UC-NRLF 


In  The  Front  Office 


Plans   and   Suggestions  for 
Writing  More  Fire  Insurance 

Effective  Means  for  Advertising 
the  Fire  Insurance   Business 

Schemes  for  Making  the  Office 
More  Productive  at  Less  Cost 


/••  -.  :    :•*.*:"••:*•  :'•.'•!/• 


Published  and  Printed  by 

THE  ROUGH  NOTES  COMPANY 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
The  Rough  Notes  Company 


Second  Edition 


The  House  Built  on  the  Sand 

"And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house;  and  it  fell:  and 
great  was  the  fall  of  it." 


The  House  Built  on  a  Rock 

"And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house;  and  it  fell  not: 
for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock." 

241557 


Low  Bridge!" 


The  brakeman  on  top  the  slippery,  bumping  freight 
car  does  not  stop  to  say,  "All  bodies  continue  in  a  straight 
line  of  motion  until  stopped  by  a  superior  force."  He  just 
knows  it  by  experience,  and  bends  his  knee  and  inclines 
his  body  mechanically  while  his  mind  is  attending  to  other 
things. 

The  man  who  has  to  stop  to  think  every  time  an 
emergency  arises  had  better  look  out — there  is  a  low 
bridge  ahead  and  the  necessity  of  having  to  work  out  all 
of  the  daily  repeating  details  or  to  learn  a  lesson  over  and 
over  is  the  signal  of  decapitation. 

Some  day  he  will  lose  his  head. 

Study  the  fundamentals,  know  the  right  way,  make 
the  repeating  things  your  burden  bearers  to  carry  your 
line  of  action  to  success ! 

Nothing  about  insurance  in  that. 

No  ?  What  is  the  difference  between  the  Co- Insur- 
ance Clause  and  the  Reduced  Rate  Average  Clause  ? 

Would  your  answer  cover  the  ground  or  would  it 
serve  as  an  advertisement  for  some  other  agency  where 
the  details  of  the  business  are  not  stumbling  blocks  but 
mounting  steps. 


In  .The .  Front .  Office 

If  you  knew  there  was  going  to  be  a  meeting  over  in 
the  next  county  of  one  hundred  of  the  most  progressive 
insurance  men  in  America,  called  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  ways  and  means  for  getting  more  busi- 
ness, at  less  expense  and  with  less  worry  over  details,  you 
would  shut  up  the  office,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  attend; 
so  would  every  active  insurance  man. 

And  every  one  would  go  home  with  a  pad  of  memo- 
randa and  a  head  full  of  ideas  that,  if  put  into  practice, 
would  mean  constantly  increasing  gains  at  decreased  cost 
of  production. 

A  little  over  a  year  ago  we  decided  to  organize  a  body 
of  insurance  men  to  meet  once  each  week  for  the  express 
purpose  of  gathering  new  ideas  on  questions  that  directly 
affect  the  dollar  and  cents  end  of  the  insurance  business. 
The  convention  meets  each  week  in  the  "Front  Office" 
page  of  ROUGH  NOTES — and  as  these  words  are  written 
this  week's  convention  is  being  attended  by  an  audience 
that  would  get  first  page  display  in  the  daily  press,  if  its 
members  were  meeting  face  to  face. 

This  volume  is  made  up  of  some  of  the  matter  that 
has  been  presented  for  consideration  during  the  period  of 
a  year.  It  is  confined  to  suggestions  of  interest  to  the  local 
Fire  Insurance  Agent. 

Should  you  desire  additional  light  on  any  of  the  sug- 
gestions, either  as  regards  points  involved  or  information 
as  to  the  supplies  needed  to  put  a  plan  into  operation, 
your  request  will  be  answered  promptly  and  in  detail. 

THE  EDITOR. 


General  Thoughts 

With  Specific  Applications 

SUNLIGHT  IS  THE  ONLY  KIND  NOT  MEASURED  BY  A 
METER.  BESIDES  LIGHT,  THE  SUN  GIVES  LIFE  TO  THE 
WORKERS. 

Would  a  sash,  a  few  panes  of  glass  and  a  day's 
pay  to  a  carpenter  cut  down  the  light  bill,  relieve 
headaches  and  put  vigor  into  the  details  ? 

UNCERTAINTY  ROBS  RELIABILITY.  TRY  THE  DOOR 
A  SECOND  TIME  EACH  NIGHT  TO  SEE  IF  IT  IS  LOCKED 
AND  INSIDE  OF  A  WEEK  YOU  WONT  BE  ABLE  TO  GO 
YOUR  WAY  WITH  A  SATISFIED  MIND  UNTIL  YOU 
HAVE  SHAKEN  IT  A  SECOND  TIME. 

Experts  have  worked  out  a  system  for  your 
business — a  system  that  not  only  takes  care  of  every 
detail,  but  checks  one  against  the  other  so  that  when 
the  thing  is  done  it  is  done  right.  Up-to-date 
systems  besides  producing  better  results  usually  do 
so  at  a  saving  in  time  and  cost  of  material.  Once  a 
man  added  ten  tens  to  get  the  multiple.  Today  he 
multiplies. 

PLANT  AN  ACORN  FOR  AN  OAK— A  FENCE  POST  FOR 
DECAY. 

If  the  stationery  is  just  an  expense  and  the 
notices  only  notify  there  is  omitted  a  most  excellent 
opportunity  for  advertising  to  advantage  at  practically 
no  cost. 


An  Automatic  System 

For  Handling  the  Follow-Up  of 

Every  Detail 

A  Plan  that  Frees  the  Brain  for  Managing  and  Working 
and  Relieves  it  of  Storehouse  Duties 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

The  great  thing  in  the  business  world  is  the  following-up  of 
things  begun.  "To  be  or  not  to  be"  is  perhaps  more  often  set- 
tled by  the  ability  of  the  individual  or  the  office  to  make  the  most 
of  every  opportunity,  through  the  following-up  of  the  details  at 
the  psychological  moment,  than  through  any  other  one  cause. 

We  present  in  outline,  with  illustrations,  a  means  for  auto- 
matically taking  care  of  any  follow-up.  The  plan  will  remind  you 
of  an  appointment;  bring  to  attention  letters  from  which  replies 
have  not  been  received;  suggest  action  in  a  personal  affair,  and 
follow-up  any  detail  in  any  department  of  the  work. 

Simple  and  Elastic 

The  plan  is  simplicity  itself,  and  may  be  put  into  immediate 
operation  by  any  office. 

To  be  sure,  the  peculiar  needs  and  demands  of  different  con- 
ditions will  have  the  effect  of  making  minor  changes,  but  the 
same  principle  will  govern  under  the  most  trying  circumstances. 

The  things  needed  to  put  the  plan  into  operation  are  found 
in  almost  every  up-to-date  office,  and  if  the  office  does  not  contain 
files  which  may  be  used  for  the  purpose,  the  cost  of  purchasing 
them  will  be  found  to  be  nominal. 

7 


8  AN  AUTOMATIC  FOLLOW-UP 

The  Outfit 

First — Take  a  small  3x5  card  box  with  a  capacity  of  at  least 
three  inches,  and  into  it  place  an  alphabetical  set  of  guides. 
Then,  on  the  typewriter,  prepare  ten  slips  for  each  letter,  num- 
bering the  slips  "B-l,"  "B-2,"  "B-3,"  and  so  on  up  to  "B-10."  Re- 
peat the  operation  for  each  letter,  placing  the  slips  as  prepared 
in  front  of  the  guides. 


The  box,  showing  the  guides  in  place. 


B~  8 


A  slip  ready  for  use,  and  showing  a  date  marked  thereon — as 
later  explained. 


Then — Into  a  3x5  card  index  drawer,  put  a  guide  card  for 
each  month  followed  by  a  guide  for  each  day. 

Next — Put  a  set  of  alphabetical  guides  (of  the  same  sub- 
division as  used  in  the  box)  into  a  letter-size  vertical  file  drawer. 


An  Automatic  Follow-up 


A  drawer  like  this  for  much  business- 


Or  just  a  vertical 
letter  file  box  like 
this  to  keep  on 
the  desk  —  for  a 
small  volume  of 
business — 


Now  you  are  ready  to  put  the  system  into  operation. 


AN  AUTOMATIC  FOLLOW-UP 


The  Monthly  and  Daily  Guides  as  they  should  appear  in  the 
drawer. 


How  It  Works 

Suppose  that  you  receive  a  letter  from  John  Brown  &  Co., 
to  which  an  immediate  reply  is  made  and  which  you  desire  to 
follow-up  with  another  letter  on  April  1st. 

You  would  fasten  the  carbon  copy  of  your  reply  to  the  face 
of  the  letter  from  John  Brown  &  Co.  and  from  in  front  of  the 
letter  "B"  in  the  little  box,  take  out  a  slip  and  on  the  top  of  the 
carbon  copy  of  your  reply  put  the  slip  number  as  "B-8,"  followed 
by  "4-1"  (April  1st)  and  at  the  same  time  put  on  the  little 
slip  "4-1." 


10  AN  AUTOMATIC  FOLLOW-UP 

File  the  correspondence  in  the  vertical  letter  file  in  front 
of  the  letter  "B"  and  put  the  slip  in  the  card  index  drawer  in 
front  of  the  daily  guide  marked  "1"  in  the  "April"  division 
(April  1st). 

The  first  thing  in  the  morning  of  each  day  take  from  in 
front  of  the  guide  card  for  that  day  of  the  year  all  of  the  slips 
there  found  and  draw  from  the  vertical  file  the  correspondence 
called  for  by  the  slips. 

The  same  operation  would  be  repeated  as  many  times  as  you 
keep  following-up  the  letter. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  destroy  the  little  slip  each  time,  for, 
after  crossing  out  the  date,  it  may  be  refiled  in  the  little  box 
and  used  over  and  over,  again. 


Meets  All  Requirements 

The  above  describes  a  simple  operation  that  may  be  applied 
to  any  case  or  condition.  But  the  thinking  man  immediately 
says:  "What  would  happen  if  John  Brown  &  Co.  should  reply 
to  my  letter  before  the  date  I  have  set  for  the  follow-up?  Would 
that  not  interfere  with  this  scheme?" 

Suppose  that  on  March  28th  you  get  a  reply  from  John 
Brown  &  Co.  You  know  that  the  original  correspondence  has 
been  filed  in  front  of  the  letter  "B"  in  the  vertical  file,  so  you 
simply  take  the  original  correspondence  which,  with  the  replies, 
is  all  fastened  together,  out  of  the  file  from  in  front  of  the  guide 
card  "B"  and  as  the  information  is  given  to  you  at  the  top  of 
the  letter  as  to  where  the  little  slip  is  located,  you  would  simply 
reach  into  the  card  index  drawer  in  front  of  "April  1st"  and 
withdraw  the  slip  marked  "B-8"  (the  designation  you  have  al- 
ready marked  on  the  top  of  the  letter) .  The  scheme  works  both 
ways. 

Provides  for  All  Details 

All  this  may  sound  complicated,  but  it  is  no  more  com- 
plicated than  a  dozen  things  every  normal  man  does  every  day — 


AN  AUTOMATIC  FOLLOW-UP  11 

no  more  complicated  than  going  home  to  dinner.  The  plan  works 
so  smoothly  and  so  definitely  that  once  put  into  operation  it  will 
seem  curious  to  think  of  the  office  having  gotten  along  without 
such  a  plan  before. 

The  same  equipment  provides  for  handling  future  details  of 
every  character.  You  have  an  appointment  to  meet  a  man  at 
2:00  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  March  29th.  On  a  memorandum 
slip  of  paper  you  would  simply  note  the  nature  of  the  appoint- 
ment with  the  hour  and  file  the  slip  in  front  of  the  guide  for  the 
29th  of  March. 

The  system  is  democratic  and  faithful  without  regard  to 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  matter  it  is  carrying — works  as  well 
on  a  memorandum  to  buy  a  birthday  present  for  your  wife  as  it 
•does  to  call  attention  to  a  $10,000.00  policy  that  may  be  secured. 

Red  Tape  is  often  ruin — System  is  Success. 


Imagine  the  stars  without  system! 

Right  tools  in  the  office  are  like  right  tools  anywhere. 

The  kite  with  a  loose  string  falls;  so  does  the  busi- 
ness with  a  loose  system. 


If  you  are  spending  the  powder  to  hit  the  target,  why 
not  hit  the  bullseye? 


Plan  largely;  work  closely.  The  engineer  has  faith 
beyond  the  headlight,  but  keeps  his  eye  upon  the  rail. 

The  most  wonderful  file  is  the  brain,  but  it  asks  to  be 
relieved  of  wooden  duties  and  to  be  permitted  to  do 
its  share  of  the  world's  work. 


Little  Leaks 

A  five-cent  leak  oft  repeated  may  ruin  results. 

Large  mercantile  houses  employ  at  fat  salaries  men 
whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  look  out  for  leaks. 

Don't  cut  down  expenses  by  cutting  down  the  number 
of  employes  to  the  danger  point.  It  pays  to  have  sufficient 
help,  and  it  pays  to  have  thoroughly  efficient  help.  But 
it  does  not  pay  to  hire  idle  moments  nor  to  pay  two  clerks 
to  do  what  one  might  do  with  proper  equipment. 

If  the  force — and  you  are  a  part  of  it — wastes  time  in 
the  ordinary  way,  there  is  no  point  in  discussing  the  rem- 
edy. But  there  is  more  time  lost  in  aimless  or  misdirected 
effort  than  in  laziness. 

It  would  pay  to  go  carefully  over  every  bit  of  regular 
work  each  one  does  and  to  see  if  there  is  not  either  a 
shorter  or  more  productive  way  to  do  it. 

It  would  pay  to  take  the  cash  book  for  the  past  year 
and  in  the  light  of  experience  look  for  waste  that  might  be 
repeated  if  not  checked. 

It  would  pay  to  have  a  series  of  half-hour  discussions 
for  the  next  two  weeks  on  shorter  methods  for  handling  the 
business  and  better  plans  for  securing  new  business. 

If  only  forty-five  minutes  should  be  saved  each  day  by 
each  person,  that  would  mean  that  the  office  would  be  mak- 
ing as  CLEAR  EXTRA  PROFIT,  THE  FULL  AMOUNT  OF 
ONE  WHOLE  MONTH'S  BUSINESS  EVERY  YEAR. 

The  outside  work  will  be  influenced  by  the  office  effort. 

But  there  should  be  more  than  a  reflected  influence.  It 
is  quite  likely  that  study  and  planning  will  make  it  possible 
to  save  and  profitably  to  spend  much  more  than  forty-five 
minutes  a  day  in  the  work  of  getting  business. 

The  heat,  the  rent,  the  telephone  and  all  fixed  charges 
are  the  same  for  a  part  time  office  as  for  one  running  full 
capacity. 

Better  turn  on  the  search  light — it  will  reveal  dollars  in 
the  cracks. 


12 


Keeping  the  Expiration  Record 

A  Series  of  Three  Articles  on  Different  Methods  of 

Handling  the  Most  Important  Information 

in  an  Agency 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

We  have  kept  a  careful  record  of  inquiries,  and  from  the 
result  find  that  outside  of  the  ones  regarding  the  plans  of  our 
Promotion  Department  the  greatest  number  has  been  relative  to 
Expiration  Systems.  There  is  good  reason  for  this.  The  record 
of  expirations  is  more  than  a  private  memorandum  of  the  next 
time  a  premium  is  to  be  collected  from  Jones — it  is  the  story  of 
future  business  to  be  done  for  the  companies  and  of  a  trust  im- 
posed by  the  assured,  for  there  are  two  things  that  the  average 
person  leaves  to  the  agent — one  is  the  stability  of  the  company, 
the  other  is  the  renewal. 

The  law  of  the  courts  would  not  hold  an  agent  liable  for  loss 
to  property  on  which  the  policy  had  lapsed,  but  business  honesty 
impels  the  use  of  every  safeguard  to  prevent  lapses  through  care- 
lessness. 

Three  Systems 

There  are  three  general  systems  for  handling  expirations — 
the  bound-book,  loose-leaf  and  card  methods.  No  particular  one 
is  the  best;  each  one  is  the  best  for  particular  conditions.  Of  the 
bound  books  we  divide  the  ones  of  our  manufacture  into  three 
classes:  The  Solicitors'  Pocket  Expiration  Books,  the  presenta- 
tion souvenirs  or  Customers'  Expiration  Books,  and  the  Agency 
Expiration  Records.  Three  styles  of  the  agency  record  are  man- 
ufactured, each  style  in  two  sizes.  In  detail  they  may  be  thus 
described : 

13 


14  A  BOUND  EXPIRATION  RECORD 

A  Popular  Bound  Book 

No.  270  is  a  popular  form  for  medium  sized  agencies.  It  has 
a  complete  alphabetical  index  in  front  and  is  also  indexed  by 
months  with  marginal  tabs  distributed  throughout  the  book,  pro- 
ducing a  complete  cross  index  system,  making  it  easy  to  look  up 
the  record  from  any  data  at  hand.  The  binding  is  substantial, 
cloth  sides  with  leather  back  and  corners.  The  smaller  size  con- 
tains 60  pages,  accommodating  250  expirations  per  month,  and 
the  other  contains  85  pages,  accommodating  350  expirations  per 
month.  These  books,  when  closed,  measure  14%  inches  long  by 
8%  inches  wide.  The  ruling  provides  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 


The  Simplex  Form 

No.  250,  commonly  called  the  "Simplex  Form,"  is  a  complete 
index  to  any  detail  regarding  a  policy,  whether  it  be  the  form,  the 
name  of  the  customer,  broker,  expiration  or  line. 

Renewals,  instead  of  being  carried  forward  by  years,  are  in- 
dicated by  substituting  in  the  marginal  column  the  new  number 
of  the  policy,  and  the  date  of  expiration  for  the  original  entry, 
which  is  entered  in  lead  pencil,  keeping  only  the  permanent  data 
in  ink. 

For  the  purpose  of  indexing  individual  lines  of  such  cus- 
tomers as  place  several  policies,  there  is  a  supplement,  indexed 
as  "Individual  Lines,"  where  a  complete  apportionment  of  the 
lines  can  be  recorded.  Names  of  such  customers  are  alphabet- 
ically indexed. 

The  smaller  size  contains  175  pages,  accommodating  315  ex- 
pirations per  month.  The  larger  size  contains  250  pages,  accom- 
modating 450  expirations  per  month.  Both  sizes  measure,  when 
closed,  15%  inches  'ong  by  12  inches  wide. 


A  Day  to  a  Page 

No.  260  is  the  largest  bound  expiration  record  we  carry  in 
stock.    It  contains  480  pages,  numbered  in  consecutive  order,  and 


A  Bound  Expiration  Record 

For  the  Office 


For  the  Pocket 


The  Record  of  Trust, 


The  Life  of  the  Agency. 


A  BOUND  EXPIRATION   RECORD  15 

by  days  of  the  month  from  one  to  thirty-one,  classifying  the  data 
by  year,  month  and  day  at  one  entry. 

All  records  for  any  given  day  are  made  on  a  single  page,  the 
columns  so  arranged  that  the  renewals  of  the  same  policy  can  be 
indicated  on  a  single  line  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 

The  months  are  indicated  at  the  top  of  each  page  as  well  as 
on  the  side  marginal  tabs — the  latter  are  permanently  gummed 
on  seperate  inset  pages  of  heavy  stock  and  not  on  the  regular 
ruled  form. 

An  additional  feature  is  the  extra  number  of  pages  provided 
at  the  end  of  each  month  in  case  any  one  page  should  be  insuffi- 
cient to  accommodate  all  entries  of  a  certain  date.  The  binding 
is  of  a  grade  and  character  that  will  stand  the  severe  test  such  a 
register  is  usually  subjected  to  during  a  period  of  ten  years. 

The  larger  is  ruled  for  24,000  expirations,  50  lines  to  a  page. 

The  small  size  is  ruled  for  12,000  expirations,  50  lines  to  a 
page,  but  for  two  days  to  a  page  instead  of  one,  making  240  pages 
to  the  Register.  The  books,  when  closed,  measure  17*4  inches 
long  by  15  inches  wide. 

In  the  next  article  we  shall  outline  the  Loose-Leaf  Expiration 
Record  and  present  illustrations  of  the  sheet  and  binder;  follow- 
ing that  we  shall  go  into  details  regarding  the  card  systems  and 
the  manner  of  handling  them.  Our  theory  is  that  you  are  ac- 
quainted with  your  own  agency  conditions,  and  that  with  a  clear 
conception  of  the  different  systems  you  will  be  in  position  to 
select  the  best  for  your  needs. 


"Millions  for  defense,  but  not  a  cent  for  tribute"  is 
as  good  a  slogan  today  as  it  was  the  hour  it  was  first 
uttered.  Paraphrased,  it  might  read,  "Any  amount 
for  business  betterment,  but  not  a  smootchen  for  de- 
cay." 


1«  WORKING  TO  A  PLAN 

Reserve  in  the  Individual 

Don't  Crowd. — You  deplore  the  lack  of  reserve  In  a  company 
— but  how  about  yourself?  Reserve  in  spiritual,  mental,  moral, 
physical  strength,  reserve  in  time,  reserve  in  preparations  are  as 
important  to  success  in  life — complete  success — as  proper  finan- 
cial reserve  is  for  an  insuring  company. 

Along  with  other  things,  it  is  worth  while  to  avoid  crowding 
the  office  records.  A  new  book  or  a  new  system  may  act  as  an 
ounce  of  prevention  against  crowding  that  may  cost  a  pound  to 
cure — and  still  leave  the  scar. 


On  Winning 


Getting  Your  "Ruthers." — What  is  the  use  in  just  wishing. 
A  poor  old  woman  at  one  of  the  fresh  air  camps  this  summer  was 
asked  on  the  occasion  of  her  birthday  as  to  what  she  would 
rather  have  as  a  special  dish  at  dinner;  tears  appeared  while 
she  answered,  "Oh,  I  don't  know,  it's  been  so  long  since  I  got  my 
'ruthers'."  Her  cupboard  was  bare;  yours  is  not.  Why  wish 
for  the  things  you  could  do  with  the  salaries  of  others — it  is  un- 
wise as  well  as  prohibited  to  envy  the  good  things  of  your  neigh- 
bors. It  is  wise  and  expedient  to  secure  like  good  things  by  the 
wise  use  of  the  right  tools — fair,  square  and  aboveboard. 


Planning  Prosperity 


Two  Men  a  Day. — Talk  to  two  new  men,  carefully  selected, 
during  your  saved  forty-five  minutes  each  day;  carefully  follow  up 
these  six  hundred  interviews  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  com- 
pany will  take  notice,  so  will  your  banker;  and  while  money 
won't  buy  happiness  the  saved-time  interviews  will  buy  a  house 
to  shelter  "her"  and  the  effort  in  itself  will  spread  a  flower- 
bordered  pathway  down  the  future. 


The  Loose-Leaf  System 

The  Second  Article  on  Keeping  the 
Expiration  Record 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

The  loose  leaf  is  related  to  both  the  bound  book  and  card 
systems  of  keeping  records,  and  in  the  judgment  of  many  is  su- 
perior to  either.  It  has  all  the  elasticity  of  the  cards,  though  not 
quite  so  readily  changed,  and  while  the  bound  book  affords  pro- 
tection which  the  ordinary  loose-leaf  binder  does  not,  against  the 
purloining  of  pages,  the  loose-leaf  scheme,  on  the  other  hand, 
provides  the  same  writing  conveniences  as  the  bound  book.  In 
addition,  it  gives  unbounded  opportunity  for  the  insertion  of  new 
page  forms,  removes  the  constant  annoyance  caused  by  the  neces- 
sity of  entering  the  record  in  an  index — or  worse,  forgetting  to 
enter — and  the  loss  of  time  in  referring  to  the  index — the  whole 
index  worry — the  bane  of  the  old  system,  and  which  in  many 
offices  requires  the  assistance  of  an  extra  bookkeeper  to  index 
the  records  so  the  regular  bookkeepers  may  post  without  delay. 

Self-Indexing 

The  loose-leaf  system  is  self-indexing,  and  the  record  is  as 
easily  found  as  is  any  page  in  a  bound  book.  The  loose-leaf 
method  is  perpetual  and  is  always  alive;  no  dead  records  are  to 
be  handled  each  time  an  entry  is  made.  The  things  of  the  same 
class  are  kept  together,  and  when  reference  is  desired  to  closed 
accounts  or  the  accounts  of  former  years,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
take  down  volume  after  volume  and  to  find  the  volume  index,  only 
to  find  the  record  is  not  there.  The  index  is  perpetual,  whether 
the  record  be  open  or  closed. 

17 


18  AN  ELASTIC  EXPIRATION  RECORD 

Uniform  with  Complete  System 

The  "Expiration  Record"  sheet  illustrated  in  the  etching  Is 
a  part  of  the  Rough  Notes  Loose-Leaf  System  for  Fire  Insurance 
Agencies,  and  while  it  dovetails  in  as  a  part  of  a  complete  sys- 
tem that  interlocks  and  prevents  the  omission  of  entries  of  any 
kind,  yet  it  can  be  used  as  an  independent  sheet,  and,  for  the 
purpose  of  this  explanation,  will  be  so  considered. 

The  sheet  is  of  standard  ledger  stock  and  measures  8%xl4 
inches.  The  sheets  are  bound  together  in  a  binder  of  the  proper 
size,  which  admits  of  instrting  or  removing  a  sheet  at  will,  at  the 
same  time  holding  the  contents  as  tightly  together  as  if  between 
the  covers  of  a  bound  book. 


Very  Simple 

The  operation  of  the  record  is  simplicity  itself.  A  sheet  is 
used  for  each  day  in  the  year;  the  record  of  expiration  is  entered 
on  the  sheet  of  the  day  the  policy  expires,  and  the  column  desig- 
nating the  year  in  which  the  policy  will  run  out  is  checked.  That 
is  all  there  is  to  it,  and  yet  the  office  always  has  together  all  the 
expirations  for  the  same  day  and  plenty  of  room  for  any  number 
of  entries,  for  sheets  for  any  day  may  be  added  indefinitely,  and 
the  bookkeeper  can  always  find  the  sheet  for  any  day  by  simply 
throwing  the  book  open  to  the  proper  month,  as  shown  on  the 
tab,  and  bringing  to  view  the  day  of  the  month,  chronologically 
arranged. 


No  Time  Limit 

Each  sheet  is  ruled  to  care  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  and  as 
the  years  roll  around  the  new  sheets  keep  extending  the  years — 
there  is  no  time  limit.  There  are  columns  for  the  name  of 
Assured,  Policy  Number,  Company,  Amount,  Rate,  Term  and  Ex- 
piration, with  a  marginal  column  for  Remarks.  The  sheet  admits 
of  entries  on  both  sides. 


An  Elastic  Expiration  Record 


r! 

6  j 


s  § 


.S 

cc 

fl 


Card  Systems  for  Expirations 

The  Third  Article  on  a  Subject  that  Concerns 
Every  Agency 


BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

The  true  theory  of  card-index  records  is  to  keep  one  record 
on  a.  card  and  so  to  classify  the  cards  that  every  record  may  be 
immediately  found  when  wanted,  and  so  that  it  will  always  be 
found  among  all  other  records  of  the  same  class.  By  means  of 
tabs  and  guides  the  classifications  may  be  many  times  multiplied. 
There  is  no  other  system  that  is  so  easily  nor  so  economically  han- 
dled (both  as  to  time  and  money  cost),  none  more  accurate,  and 
none  as  self-acting  providing  the  cards  are  handled  properly.  The 
card  system  is  accuracy  itself,  but  to  be  a  success  it  must  be 
handled  only  by  persons  who  understand  the  system  and  stick  to 
it.  In  an  agency  where  conditions  seem  to  make  it  necessary  to 
let  everybody  look  up  expirations,  the  sheet  system  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred, but  where  one  or  two  persons  take  the  responsibility — the 
small  agency  where  the  agent  himself  handles  the  records  or  the 
large  agency  with  a  bookkeeper — the  card  system  is  a  great  time 
saver  and  a  most  convenient  method. 

A  Popular  Form 

One  of  the  Expiration  form  cards  is  ruled  so  as  to  admit  of 
the  entry  of  five  policies  and  to  show  the  amount  carried  on 
Furniture,  Building,  Stock  and  Machinery — but  unless  all  of  the 
policies  are  certain  to  remain  in  full  force  for  the  term  and  un- 
less each  one  is  to  expire  on  the  same  day  a  form  ruled  for  the 

19 


20  A  CARD  EXPIRATION  RECORD 

entry  of  but  one  policy  is  to  be  preferred.  Such  a  ruling  is  shown 
in  the  illustration,  and  is  known  as  Card  Form  F-l  (first  card  in 
Fire  series). 


J .JUNE V 


Form  Fl 
A  popular  form. 


How  to  Use  It 

Provision  is  made  for  entry  of  Month,  Day  and  Year  of  Ex- 
piration, Name  of  Assured,  Address,  Policy  No.,  Company, 
Amount,  Term,  Rate,  Premium,  Register  Folio,  and  Description 
of  Property.  The  card  measures  five  inches  long  by  three  inches 
wide.  The  cards  as  soon  as  made  out  should  be  filed  in  a  card- 
index  drawer  equipped  with  a  set  of  guide  cards  designating  the 
days  of  the  month  between  guides  designating  the  months  of  the 
year  and  followed  by  five  guides  marked  to  designate  the  follow- 
ing five  years.  The  Expiration  card  is  filed  in  front  of  the  guide 
card  of  the  day  and  month  it  is  to  expire — if  it  is  a  more  than 
one  year  policy  in  front  of  the  guide  for  the  year  of  expiration. 
If  many  policies  are  written  for  more  than  a  year  it  pays  to  have 
a  set  of  monthly  guides  for  a  period  of  five  years  so  as  to  file  more 


A  CARD  EXPIRATION  RECORD 


21 


closely — and  in  a  large  agency  to  have  daily  guides  for  five  years. 
If  daily  guides  are  not  provided  for  more  than  a  year,  the  cards 
that  are  filed  in  front  of  the  yearly  guides  are  refiled  on  the  first 
of  the  year  of  expiration  in  front  of  the  daily  guides.  The  illus- 
tration shows  the  section  of  a  drawer  with  cards  and  guides  for 
a  part  of  the  month  of  June. 

A  Necessary  Rule 

In  operating  the  card  system  one  rule  should  be  iron-clad  and 
inflexible:  it  is  that  NO  CARD  IS  TO  BE  TAKEN  AWAY  FROM 
THE  FILES  AS  LONG  AS  THE  POLICY  IS  IN  FORCE. 

There  is  always  a  temptation  to  take  out  the  cards  as  re- 
minders of  persons  to  be  seen,  but  there  is  too  much  involved 
and  too  great  chance  of  a  card  being  mislaid,  lost  or  overlooked 
to  make  this  wise  even  with  a  careful  person.  The  safer,  better 
plan  is  to  copy  into  a  pocket  expiration  book  such  data  regarding 
nearing  expirations  as  needed,  and  to  leave  the  cards  in  the  file 
as  a  constant  check  against  work  to  be  done. 


Form  21  8 
A  tabbed  card. 


Tabbed  Cards 

There  is  a  tabbed  expiration  card  which  makes  it  possible 
to  classify  at  the  same  time  by  name  and  by  expiration,  but  this 


A  CARD  EXPIRATION  RECORD 

form  is  not  as  practical  for  the  average  agency  as  the  one  de- 
scribed, as  it  does  not  admit  of  the  close  classification  by  days. 
It,  however,  is  found  convenient  for  the  very  small  agencies. 

Small  Initial  Expense 

The  card  system  costs  very  little  to  install,  is  always  free 
from  dead  material,  always  shows  coming  expirations  at  a  glance 
and  admits  of  changing  the  date  of  expiration,  canceling  any  part 
of  a  line  or  the  entering  of  such  additional  data  as  desired  with- 
out in  any  way  disturbing  or  crowding  the  record  of  other  poli- 
cies. The  back  of  the  card  is  very  useful.  For  freedom  of  opera- 
tion the  card  system  stands  ahead  of  either  the  loose-leaf  or 
bound-book  records.  In  its  freedom  lies  the  possibilities  of  dan- 
ger: the  agency  that  will  safeguard  the  system  can  use  it  with 
great  success — all  other  agencies  should  adopt  a  more  stable 
method. 


1915 


/      (913 


/       1911 


7 


Addres.         3? 


Form  Fk 


This  form  accommodates  several  policies,  but 
is  not  practical  unless  all  of  the  policies  expire 
at  the  same  time. 


FILES  FOR  CARD  RECORDS  23 

Files  That  Build  Up 

The  unit  scheme  has  recently  been  applied  to  card-index 
drawers,  and  now  an  agency  may  start  with  a  complete  "top 
section"  of  only  two  drawers,  and  as  the  business  grows  and  the 
number  of  cards  increase  keep  adding  to  the  cabinet  two  drawers 
at  a  time.  The  sections  fit  into  each  other  and  form  a  nearly 
solid  piece  of  furniture. 


In  the  G.  O.  Summer  Time 

Starting  Right. — To  start  right  it  is  said  one  needs  to  have 
been  born  seven  times  before  his  present  existence.  Today  is 
the  cumulation  of  yesterdays.  That  is  good  doctrine  to  live  on 
in  preparation  for  tomorrow,  but  bad  doctrine  to  mope  on  today. 
No  man  is  responsible  for  the  errors  beyond  his  control,  but 
every  man  is  liable  for  the  record  of  today  and  responsible  for 
the  opportunities  at  hand. 

Today  is  the  time  of  all  times  for  shaping  up  things  pre- 
paratory to  the  business  that  must  be  done  this  fall.  Septem- 
ber is  but  four  days  off.  It  would  pay  the  normal  man  to  get 
away  from  the  details  of  today — to  lose  the  rest  of  August's 
profits — while  wrapped  in  meditation  and  busy  with  definite  plans 
for  the  fall.  Remember  that  you  must  count  the  cost  of  handling 
the  business  as  well  as  the  cost  of  getting  it.  A  dollar  saved 
in  the  office  is  just  as  big  as  a  dollar  made  in  the  field.  But 
stinginess  is  not  economy.  If  there  be  waste  eliminate  it,  keeping 
in  mind,  however,  that  amputations  are  often  fatal  and  that 
management  does  not  necessarily  mean  retrenchment;  it  always 
does  mean  getting  the  most  out  of  the  machinery,  be  it  of  iron 
and  wood  or  flesh  and  bone. 


24  THREE  THOUGHTS 

Consider! 

Are  you  any  farther  along  today  than  one  year  ago  today? 
You  may  be  and  yet  have  no  worldly  thing  to  show  for  it.  It  is 
a  question  you  alone  can  answer — but  the  answer  is  made  and 
cannot  be  altered.  What  will  the  answer  be  a  year  hence?  Much 
depends  on  today. 


Co-Operation 


Co-operation  has  been  the  corner-stone  of  success  since  the 
day  One.  On  this  rock  is  built  society  in  general  and  the  meas- 
urement of  the  world's  achievements  is  the  record  of  concerted 
effort.  Co-operation  has  been  the  flag-word  of  freedom.  Under 
this  banner  thirteen  co-operative  colonies  gave  a  war  whoop 
that  caused  the  British  to  substitute  US  for  OURS.  Co-operation 
builds  homes,  businesses,  communities  and  nations. 

Some  men  do  not  co-operate  even  with  themselves. 


Making  Success 


Success  and  Chance. — Even  the  success  that  follows  or  re- 
sults from  occasional  lucky  strikes  is  usually  so  short  lived  it 
only  emphasizes  the  fact  that  chance  is  not  one  of  the  ele- 
mental factors  in  success.  Plans  well  laid  on  a  basis  of  suffi- 
cient knowledge,  when  properly  executed,  always  win  out;  while 
a  poor  plan,  carefully  followed,  usually  produces  more  satis- 
factory results  than  a  brilliant  one  that  is  not  strictly  adhered 
to.  A  plan  that  is  mapped  out  in  conformity  with  the  laws  that 
govern  and  that  embodies  the  successful  experience  of  others 
starts  off  with  the  goal  in  sight. 

The  wise  man  looks  not  so  much  for  original  plans  as  he 
does  for  ways  of  profitably  applying  proven  methods  to  his  work; 
and  of  following  up  the  plan  to  see  that  it  does  work.  Of  course, 
such  men  have  less  spare  time  than  some  of  their  fellows,  less 
time  for  complaint  and  less  cause  for  grumbling,  and,  yet,  for 
some  reason,  get  and  give  a  good  deal  more  out  of  each  day. 


How  to  Analyze 
The  Business— Day  by  Day 

The  Cost  Per  Unit  Rule  of  Big  Business 

Successes  Applied  to  the  Local 

Fire  Insurance  Office 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

The  adoption  of  this  form  to  insurance  accounting  was  pre- 
sented at  the  close  of  the  year  and  the  matter  is  here  reproduced  as 
it  appeared. 

IT    IS    READY!!! 

A  simple  form  sheet  that  will  reflect  at  a  glance  a  complete 
analysis  of  the  entire  business  of  a  local  fire  insurance  agency. 

Heretofore  the  systems  of  accounts  for  insurance  offices  have 
covered  all  the  details,  but  left  them  as  separate  items. 

Every  local  agent  has  felt  the  need  of  a  form  that  would 
combine  all  the  essential  data  and  enable  him  to  tell  at  any 
time  the  exact  condition  of  his  business. 

Our  systems  department  has  been  at  work  for  a  long  time 
devising  a  form  to  meet  the  requirements. 

The  one  we  are  now  ready  to  present  has  been  worked  out 
by  degrees,  after  consultation  with  expert  accountants  in  local 
fire  insurance  offices. 

THE    FORM    IS    READY    FOR    USE 

The  sheet  gives  at  a  single  reading  the  net  totals  of  the 
amount  due  the  agency,  the  amount  the  agency  owes,  the  bal- 
ance on  the  brokerage  accounts,  the  cash  balance,  the  balance  in 

25 


26  AN  UP-TO-NIGHT  RECORD 

bank,  the  net  balance  due  each  one  of  the  companies  repre- 
sented, the  amount  of  commissions  earned  and  the  total  of  ex- 
penses, together  with  the  net  profits  for  any  period  of  time  from 
one  day  to  one  month  and  by  months  for  any  number  of  years. 

Not  only  may  all  of  the  information  desired  be  obtained  at 
once,  but  without  any  reference  whatever  to  the  ledgers. 

And,  besides,  the  sheet  will  make  a  saving  of  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  bookkeeper's  time,  as  it  eliminates  a  great  part  of 
the  posting  required  by  the  usual  methods. 

The  form  is  that  of  a  combined  cash  record  and  journal 
sheet.  It  is  a  sheet  of  original  entry  for  all  items. 

This  form  is  illustrated  in  operation  on  the  sheet  in  the  envelope 
attached  to  the  back  cover  of  this  book.  On  it  will  be  found  the 
different  classes  of  entries  that  ordinarily  arise  in  the  business  of 
a  local  Jire  insurance  agency. 

In  the  column  for  the  date  we  have  put  a  row  of  consecutive 
figures  which  will  be  used  as  the  key  for  our  explanation  of  the 
sheet. 

Of  course,  one  day's  business  might  consume  25  or  30  lines 
or  even  two  or  three  sheets,  and  there  would  be  many  items  of 
the  same  general  character. 

Entry  No.  0 

The  figures  entered  on  this  line  represent  the  balances  of 
the  different  accounts  when  the  new  sheet  is  put  into  operation. 
They  are  necessary  in  order  that  the  totals  may  be  carried  into 
the  business  from  day  to  day. 

Entry  No.  1 

The  agency  has  issued  a  Royal  Insurance  Company  policy 
to  the  Hamilton  Lumber  Company,  the  premium  being  $90.00. 
After  the  policy  is  written  and  ready  to  be  charged,  an  entry, 
the  same  as  our  entry  No.  1,  (see  "Day"  column)  is  made, 
charging  in  the  "Accounts  Receivable"  column  $90.00,  and  in 
the  "Royal"  column  crediting  the  Royal  Insurance  Company 


ALL  THE  TOTALS  EVERY  DAY          27 

with  $76.50,  its  net  share  of  the  premium.  The  balance  of  $13.50 
is  credited  to  the  "Commission  Account."  The  charge  is  then 
posted  against  the  Hamilton  Lumber  Company  account  in  the 
ledger,  and  a  check  mark  made  in  the  debit  check  column  to 
show  that  it  has  been  posted. 

Entry  No.  2 
This  entry  is  the  same  sort  of  a  charge  as  entry  No.  1. 

Entry  No.  3 

The  Hamilton  Lumber  Company  pays  $90.00  on  account  of  a 
policy.  The  cash  is  charged  with  this  amount  and  "Accounts 
Receivable"  credited.  The  credit  is  then  posted  to  the  account 
of  the  Hamilton  Lumber  Company,  and  a  check  mark  placed  in 
the  credit  check  column  to  show  that  the  posting  has  been  made. 

Entry  No.  4 

This  represents  an  entry  of  a  policy  for  the  Sherman  Mer- 
cantile Company  that  has  been  brokered  to  another  insurance 
agency.  The  assured  is  charged  in  "Accounts  Receivable" 
with  the  amount  of  the  premium,  while  the  Spann  Agency 
(the  broker)  is  credited  with  the  same,  less  10  per  cent,  on  ac- 
count of  commission,  which  is  credited  to  the  agency's  "Com- 
mission Account."  Post  the  charge  of  $36.00  to  the  Sherman 
Mercantile  Company  and  the  credit  of  $32.40  to  the  Spann 
Agency  account  in  the  brokerage  column.  Make  the  check 
marks  in  the  proper  columns,  to  show  that  the  postings  have 
been  made. 

Entry  No.  5 

This  entry  reflects  the  data  for  the  charge  of  a  policy  which 
has  been  solicited  and  placed  by  a  sub-agent  or  solicitor  of  the 
agency.  Charge  the  premium  of  $40.00  to  the  assured  (The 
Harris  Trunk  Company)  then  credit  the  Phoenix  with  its  pro- 
portion and  the  '"Commission  Account"  with  the  balance.  Now 
on  the  next  line  credit  $4.00  to  H.  Smith  (the  sub-agent)  in  the 


28  AN  UP-TO-NIGHT  RECORD 

"Accounts  Payable"  column,  and  charge  $4.00  in  the  proper 
column  in  the  "Commission"  division.  Post  the  charge  against 
the  Harris  Trunk  Company  and  the  credit  to  the  sub-agent's 
account.  Finish  by  making  the  usual  check  marks. 


Entry  No.  6 

James  Doe,  the  assured,  has  canceled  a  policy  issued  him 
by  the  agency.  The  return  premium  is  $27.90.  Credit  James 
Doe  in  "Accounts  Receivable"  column  with  the  $27.90,  and  charge 
the  Sun  Insurance  Company  with  its  proportion  of  the  returned 
premium  and  the  "Commission  Account"  with  its  proportion  of 
the  returned  commission.  After  James  Doe's  account  is  credited, 
the  check  mark  is  made  completing  the  entry. 

Entry  No.  7 

This  is  an  entry  of  an  expense  item,  for  the  purchase  of 
$10.00  worth  of  postage.  Charge  the  Expense  Account  with 
this  amount  and  credit  Cash  Account. 

Entry  No.  8 

On  depositing  any  money  or  checks  in  the  bank,  an  entry 
is  made  similar  to  this  one.  As  all  money  and  checks  taken 
in  are  charged  first  in  the  "Cash  Account,"  therefore  in  making 
a  bank  deposit,  "Cash"  is  credited  with  the  amount  and  the 
"Bank"  is  charged  with  the  same. 

Entry  No.  9 

This  shows  the  style  of  an  entry  where  a  check  for  a 
monthly  settlement  is  sent  one  of  the  companies  represented. 
The  total  for  each  company  is  posted  at  the  end  of  each  month, 
by  carrying  the  net  balance  to  the  company's  account  in  the 
"Accounts  Payable"  ledger.  When  settlement  is  made  the  entry 
is  made  in  the  "Accounts  Payable"  column. 


ALL   THE   TOTALS   EVERY   DAY  29 

Entry  No.  10 

This  is  another  expense  item,  the  office  pay  roll.  Charge 
"'Expenses"  with  the  full  amount  and  credit  the  "Bank"  with 
the  same. 

Entry  No.  11 

H.  T.  Thompson,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  agency,  has 
drawn  a  check  for  $50.00  on  his  personal  account.  This  amount 
is  charged  to  his  account  in  the  "General  Accounts,"  and  the 
bank  is  credited  with  the  same.  The  charge  of  $50.00  is  posted 
to  the  account  of  H.  T.  Thompson  in  the  general  ledger. 

Entry  No.  12 

The  Green  Insurance  Agency,  a  competitor,  places  a  policy 
with  the  agency  for  brokerage.  The  Green  Agency  is  charged 
in  the  "Brokerage  Account"  division  with  the  full  amount  of 
the  premium,  and  the  Aetna  Insurance  Company  is  credited  with 
its  proportion  and  "Commission"  account  with  the  balance.  (See 
next  entry.) 

Entry  No.  13 

This  entry  is  made  to  allow  a  brokerage  commission  to  the 
Green  Agency  for  placing  the  above  policy.  We  make  an  entry 
crediting  the  Green  Agency  with  10  per  cent,  of  the  premium 
and  charging  the  "Commission  Account"  with  the  same. 

Entry  No.  14 

This  entry  represents  the  settlement  by  check  to  the  Spann 
Agency  for  policies  brokered  to  that  company.  We  charge  the 
Spann  Agency  in  "Brokerage"  division  and  make  a  posting  in 
the  ledger,  and  credit  the  bank  with  the  amount  of  the  check. 


Entries  No.  15-16-17 
These  are  the  same  sort  of  entries  as  Nos.  1  and  2. 


30  AN  UP-TO-NIGHT  RECORD 

Entry  No.  18 

This  entry  is  made  once  a  month  to  charge  the  different 
companies  with  the  agency's  postage  allowance.  The  "Ex- 
pense" account  is  credited  with  the  total  of  the  entry. 

Any  Agent  Can  Operate 

The  explanations  at  the  bottom  of  the  etching  are  written 
in  terms  that  bookkeepers  use — if  you  are  not  a  regular  book- 
keeper just  think  of  "Trial  Balance"  as  meaning  the  net 
amount  on  the  particular  record. 

The  difference  between  the  debit  and  credit  side  of  each 
one  of  the  columns  to  the  left  of  the  "Description"  column 
should  agree  exactly  with  the  difference  between  the  charge  and 
credit  sides  of  the  individual  accounts  in  the  particular  ledger 
to  which  the  column  refers.  For  instance,  the  difference  be- 
tween the  two  sides  of  the  "Accounts  Receivable"  column  will 
always  equal  the  difference  between  the  charge  and  credit  sides 
of  the  individual  accounts  to  which  the  agency  has  extended 
credit  so  that  by  subtracting  one  column  from  the  other  one  can 
see  at  a  glance  on  any  day  exactly  how  much  is  due  the  agency. 

The  same  thing  applies  to  the  other  columns. 

The  work  of  the  sheet  is  simplicity  itself. 

The  system  has  been  endorsed  by  leading  insurance  sys- 
tematizers  who  have  predicted  a  ready  adoption  by  all  Agencies 
that  conduct  their  affairs  on  a  business  basis. 

For  Any  Number  of  Companies 

The  illustration  shows  the  sheet  reduced  one-half  in  size. 
The  actual  measurements  of  the  form  reproduced  are  14x17 
inches.  This  size  of  sheet  will  take  care  of  an  agency  with  five 
companies.  An  agency  with  eight  companies  would  require  a 
sheet  14x21  inches;  twelve  companies,  17x25  inches.  For  agencies 
with  more  than  twelve  companies  we  will  supply  a  separate  cut- 
leaf  sheet  to  accommodate  six  companies.  Any  number  of  these 
cut  sheets  may  be  inserted,  so  that  the  size  of  the  agency  is  im- 
material. 


ALL  THE  TOTALS  EVERY  DAY          31 

A  Constant  Source  of  Profit 

There  is  money  in  knowing  just  where  the  business  stands 
at  all  times,  and  if  the  sheet  could  not  be  made  to  go  further 
than  this  the  slight  cost  of  the  necessary  supplies  would  not 
only  be  justifiable  in  any  agency,  but  from  the  standpoint  of 
business  would  be  imperative.  However,  the  use  of  this  form 
means  an  actual  cash  saving  in  the  Office  Expenses  for  the  form 
eliminates  the  Cash  Record  and  the  Journal  and  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  all  of  the  columns  to  the  right  of  the  "Descrip- 
tion" column  are  posted  but  once  a  month  and  then  by  totals 
only,  greatly  reduces  the  time  ordinarily  spent  in  posting  day 
by  day.  The  only  posting  called  for  is  of  the  entries  which  are 
made  in  the  columns  to  the  left  of  the  "Description"  column. 

No  Additional   Records  Required 

The  installing  of  this  form  does  not  necessitate  the  pur- 
chase of  any  additional  books,  as  it  will  work  with  loose-leaf, 
card  or  bound-book  records,  with  any  system  now  in  use. 

Loose-Leaf  Binders  of  proper  size  for  handling  the  forms 
will  be  manufactured  in  quantities  and  retailed  at  our  regular 
stock  prices  for  the  different  sizes.  Only  two  binders  are  re- 
quired, one  a  sheet  holder  for  the  sheets  in  current  use  and  a 
binder  for  holding  the  sheets  permanently. 

An   Expiration  Check 

The  "Expiration  Column"  is  a  feature  that  was  incorporated 
in  the  sheet  "by  request."  It  is  a  sure  and  positive  check  on 
the  making  of  an  Expiration  entry  for  every  policy  written.  At 
the  end  of  the  month  this  column  should  be  checked  against  the 
Expiration  records.  A  simple,  quick  operation  that  will  forever 
put  an  end  to  the  possibility  of  a  policy  being  omitted. 

The  Cost 

The  cost  of  the  sheets  and  binders  depends,  of  course,  upon 
the  number  of  companies  in  the  agency,  so  that  without  going 
into  extensive  details  it  is  not  possible  to  quote  prices  for  every 


32  AN  UP-TO-NIGHT  RECORD 

size  of  agency.  Write  us  as  to  the  number  of  companies  in 
your  agency,  and  we  will  let  you  hear  from  us  by  return 
mail  as  to  the  cost  of  the  two  binders  required  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  sheets  to  last  the  agency  for  a  year. 

May  Include  Realty  and  Loan  Transactions 
As  Real  Estate,  Rentals  and  Loans  often  form  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  business  of  an  insurance  office,  we  have  prepared 
a  form  to  embrace  in  the  same  thorough  manner  all  the  details 
connected  with  Real  Estate,  Rental  and  Loan  transactions.  If 
your  office  handles  this  class  of  business,  let  us  hear  from  you 
to  this  effect,  and  we  shall  be  governed  accordingly  in  replying. 

Expert  Service  Commercialized 

We  believe  that  the  sheet  described  will  be  recognized  by 
the  majority  of  agents  as  the  very  form  for  which  they  have 
felt  a  want  every  month  in  the  year,  often  every  day — a  means 
whereby  the  agent  may  know  positively  at  the  close  of  any  day 
just  how  the  agency  stands. 

The  commercializing  of  the  expert  service  put  into  this 
form  is  our  Christmas  gift  to  the  Local  Fire  Insurance  Agents 
of  America,  with  whom  our  Systems  Department  shall  be  glad 
to  co-operate  in  explaining  every  little  detail  that  may  have 
been  slighted  in  this  explanation  and  to  whom  we  shall  be  glad 
to  furnish  such  additional  outlines  as  may  be  necessary  for  in- 
stalling the  sheet — and  to  all  of  whom  we  wish  not  only  a 
Merry  Christmas  but  the  happiest  holiday  season  within  the 
memory  of  each  one  to  be  followed  by  a  New  Year  of  unequalled 
prosperity  and  blessings. 


Look  steadily  at  a  bright  light  for  half  a  minute,  and 
then  face  the  darkness — the  light  will  shine  ahead  of 
you.  So  do  the  blazing  fires  of  ages  past  mark  the 
pathway  of  the  future. 


Writing 
Next  Year's  Special  Forms 

A  Time-Saving  Plan 

BY  WM.  H.  STEELE 

Many  of  the  special  forms  we  have  to  write  on  annual  stock 
and  other  business  policies  are  long  and  take  considerable  time. 
For  some  time  I  have  made  it  a  practice  when  writing  these  to 
put  six  of  the  forms  on  the  typewriter  at  one  time  (with  carbon 
paper  between).  This  gives  extra  copies  which  can  be  filed  for 
the  next  year.  I  AM  USING  LAST  YEAR'S  EXTRA  COPIES 
NOW,  AND  FIND  THEM  TIME  SAVERS. 


The  idea  or  principle  involved  in  Mr.  Steele's  plan  is  one  that 
may  be  used  to  great  advantage  in  cutting  down  the  detail  work. 
Carbon  paper  costs  a  good  deal  less  than  time — and  the  result  is 
always  an  exact  duplication. 


33 


Short  Cuts  in  a  General  Agency 

A  Complete  Outline  of  Three  Up- to- Date  Labor- Saving 

Systems  Used  by  a  General  Agency.   They 

Contain  Ideas  That  Can  be  Made  to 

Apply  to  Cut  Down  Details  in  the 

Home  Office  and  in  General 

and  Local  Agencies 

BY  H.  G.  HOFFMAN 

A  card  now  takes  the  place  of  the  expiration  book  and  index 
in  our  offices. 

We  keep  all  regular  data  on  the  front  of  the  card,  and  when- 
ever a  cancellation  becomes  necessary,  do  our  figuring  on  the 
back  of  the  card  and  file  it,  if  we  wish,  for  future  reference. 

By  means  of  the  tabs  it  is  easy  to  pull  the  cards  for  any 
month,  and  thus  to  get  expirations  quickly. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  in  this  card  is  that  it  can  be 
used  time  and  time  again,  the  one  change  being,  as  a  rule,  the 
company  and  the  number  of  the  policy — another  year  is  checked 
and  we  go  ahead.  (The  card  is  illustrated  on  the  opposite  page.) 

The  use  of  this  card  will  mean  its  adoption.  We  have  tried 
it  now  for  several  years,  and  find  it  gives  entire  satisfaction. 

KEEPING  CUSTOMERS'  ACCOUNTS 

We  have  done  away  with  a  ledger  for  our  office  trade,  but 
whenever  writing  a  policy  (unless  a  large  account)  we  make  a 
statement,  such  as  exhibited  (on  the  following  pages),  with  car- 
bon, making  the  four  at  one  time.  The  No.  1  goes  out  on  the 
first  of  the  month  following  that  in  which  the  business  is  written; 

34 


SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


35 


the  second  goes  out  on  the  10th.  On  the  25th,  if  account  still 
remains  unpaid,  we  send  No.  3,  and  on  the  30th  make  draft,  with 
receipted  bill  attached.  This  is  kept  in  a  loose-leaf  binder. 
Should  first  account  be  paid  when  sent  out,  we  tear  up  two  and 
three  and  receipt  and  send  four.  If  draft  is  not  paid  when  sent, 
the  receipted  bill  is  returned,  and  so  we  still  have  our  evidence 
of  the  account.  At  any  time  we  wish  to  know  the  amount  of  out- 
standing accounts  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  figure  from  this  record. 
This  can  only  be  worked,  however,  where  a  cash  or  thirty-day 
business  is  done. 


THE    RECORD    CARD 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

* 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

PROPERTY 


rtik*. 


/< 


AMOUNT  OOO 


«,/<r-± 


1908 

1909 

<*> 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1919 

1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1923 

1924 

1925 

1926 

t 

1927 

r«  . 

COM.P0.8UB-AOT. 


CANCELLED,  ORDER  OF 


A  reproduction  of  "The  Record  Card/'  the  one  in  use,  fits  a 
4x6  card  index  drawer.  The  cards  are  "tabbed"  to  show  the  month 
of  expiration.  "May"  at  the  top  would  appear  above  the  card. 


A  detailed  explanation  of  the  forms  used  in  keeping  the 
Customers'  Accounts  and  in  the  Draft  System  appears  on  the 
following  pages. 


36 


SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


The  two  forms  on  the  opposite  page  are  printed  upside  down 
on  the  back  of  the  sheet  so  that  when  the  sheet  is  folded  once 
they  appear  right  side  up  and  the  lines  to  be  filled  in  are  exactly 
under  the  blank  lines  in  the  forms  on  this  page. 


" 


W 


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P 

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O 
B 
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P 

OD 


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il 


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SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


37 


By  inserting  a  carbon  sheet  between  the  two  sets  of  forms 
both  are  filled  out  with  one  operation.  (See  diagrams  on  page 
40  for  arrangement  of  the  forms.) 


S  s 


§   s 


AVMtNT 


H.  a  HOFFMAN 


38 


SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


Heretofore  when  making  drafts  on  our  agents  we  had  to 
make  draft,  write  agent  we  had  done  so,  write  a  form  to  the  bank 
and  make  a  record  for  the  office. 

By  means  of  the  forms  illustrated  on  these  two  pages  and 
the  use  of  carbon  paper  we  make  all  four  records  at  one  time. 


O    g    S 

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ii« 


»>   H 

Hi 

i  *' 

fif 
i9 


«  S   B 

155 

a   ^ 


SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


39 


The  forms  on  this  page  are  printed  upside  down  on  the  back 
of  the  sheet,  so  that  when  the  sheet  is  folded  once  they  appear 
right  side  up,  and  the  lines  to  be  filled  in  are  exactly  under  the 
blank  lines  in  the  forms  on  the  opposite  page. 


J 

P 


;  s 


•    8 


40 


SHORT  CUTS  IN  THE  OFFICE 


Diagram  showing  arrangement  of  forms,  perforation  and  folding  so  that 
all  four  forms  may  be  filled  out  with  one  operation. 


1 

Original  Statement 
of  Account 

2 

Second  Notice 

Fold 

Here 

8 

PUB  WBJCI  '!}.unooov 

f 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  DRAFT  FORMS 


Notification 


Draft 


Fold 
Here 


PJOO9H   90WO 


An  Elastic 
System  in  a  Local  Office 

A  Card  System  With  Special  Adaptations  Described 

in  Detail.  The  Forms  and  How 

They  Are  Used 

BY  JACOB  J.  PETERSON 

Here  is  a  description  of  the  way  I  keep  the  records  of  my 
business : 

I  use  now  in  my  office  the  card  system  altogether,  and  find 
it  the  most  convenient  of  any  system  that  I  have  used;  have  done 
away  with  all  book  records  except  one,  which  is  a  complete  form 
register  of  all  the  business  written.  The  forms  are  numbered 
consecutively.  I  use  a  duplicate  daily  report  system  in  place  of 
company  register.  The  duplicate  daily  reports  are  numbered 
the  same  as  the  form  on  the  register,  and  are  filed  away  in  ver- 
tical folders — a  folder  for  each  company. 

The  following  cards  are  used: 

Assured's  Line  Record,  alphabetically  arranged;  Expiration 
Card,  arranged  chronologically;  Street  or  Locality  Cards;  Ac- 
count Cards  with  Policyholders,  and  Account  Current  Cards  with 
Companies. 

The  Line  Card 

The  assured's  line  record  card  groups  together  all  the  poli- 
cies written  for  any  one  person,  and  showing  the  date  of  expira- 
tion of  each  makes  it  possible  to  refer  quickly  to  the  expiration 
card,  with  details  on  any  particular  risk. 

41 


AN  ELASTIC  SYSTEM 


The  Line  Card. 


A  Chronological  Arrangement  of  Expirations 

The  expiration  cards  are  arranged  for  a  period  of  five  years. 
In  addition  to  showing  the  date  of  expiration,  the  cards  also  give 
all  essential  data  regarding  the  policy.  The  chronological  ar- 
rangement enables  the  agent  to  keep  all  of  his  expirations  for  a 
given  date  together,  and  yet  the  file  is  never  cumbered  with  mem- 
orandums which  have  become  as  dead  matter  on  account  of  can- 
cellations. 

Locality  Cards 

Many  agencies  file  the  street  or  locality  cards  between  guides 
showing  the  even  and  odd  numbers.  I  use  block  numbers — that 
is,  the  building  number.  For  instance,  I  start  in  with  a  guide 
numbered  "100,"  that  takes  in  both  the  even  and  odd  numbers 
beginning  with  100;  next,  a  guide  numbered  "200,"  and  so  on  to 
the  end  of  the  street  or  business  section.  All  streets  are  ar- 
ranged in  the  same  manner,  starting  with  the  lowest  number.  I 
prefer  this  arrangement  to  the  even  and  odd  guides,  as  it  saves 
time.  For  instance,  I  get  a  new  line  for  a  certain  company  in 
the  800  block;  I  can  go  at  once  to  that  block  and  find  what  other 
lines  I  have  for  the  same  company,  without  hunting  for  the  lo- 
cality. 


AN  ELASTIC  SYSTEM 


43 


The  accounts  with  policyholders  are  kept  on  cards,  which  are 
filed  alphabetically. 


Showing  the  arrangement  of  the  customers'  accounts. 


Tilings  put  off  put  on  burdens.    Keeping  ahead  of  the 
work  enables  one  to  lead  instead  of  'being  dragged. 


A  man  that  is  hungry  cannot  do  good  work,  nor  can 
a  business  that  is  starved  produce  the  lest  results. 


It  is  usually  better  to  cut  one  engagement  short  than 
to  be  five  minutes  late  at  every  appointment  during 
the  day. 


Take  Advantage  of  the  Wind 

This  memorandum  is  inspired  by  a  little  scene  that  has 
taken  place  outside  our  windows.  A  bleak,  cold,  east  wind  is 
driving  the  sharp  snow  before  it  down  the  street.  In  the  face 
of  the  wind  a  humane-hearted  but  thoughtless  driver,  himself 
shivering  with  the  cold,  jumped  from  his  wagon  and  stopped 
long  enough  to  spread  a  heavy  blanket  over  the  horse  and  to 
fasten  the  cover  securely.  The  driver  then  darted  into  the 
store,  out  of  sight  behind  the  frost-covered  windows.  But  he 
entirely  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  horse's  head  was  left 
toward  the  cutting  wind;  so  the  animal  has  taken  things  into 
his  own  feet  and  very  quietly  and  in  a  dignified  manner  walked 
out  into  the  middle  of  the  street  and  turned  himself  and  the 
wagon  around.  Now  the  vehicle  breaks  the  blast  and  the  horse 
stands  with  instead  of  against  the  wind. 

There  is  profit  in  lining  up  a  proposition  so  that  it  will  work 
in  the  most  perfect  harmony  with  the  natural  conditions. 

After  extending  a  warm  welcome  in  your  advertisements, 
don't  overlook  the  fact  that  the  office  should  have  a  welcome 
appearance. 

Don't  send  out  printed  literature  that  will  be  offensive  to 
the  eye  or  touch;  these  two  natural  senses  register  their  im- 
pressions first  in  the  brain. 

The  "do's"  and  "don'ts"  might  be  continued  indefinitely; 
however,  our  purpose  is  not  to  point  out  the  individual  oppor- 
tunities for  taking  advantage  of  natural  conditions  but  to  bring 
home  the  fact  that  it  pays  to  study  them. 


It  is  not  wise  to  have  too  many  whys.    'Tis  better 
just  to  know  and  do. 


The  elements  of  life  here  and  hereafter  lie  in  faith, 
hope  and  charity. 

44 


Getting  Business  on  Rural  Routes 

A  Letter  That  Made  Good— With  a 
Summary  of  Results 

BY  F.  A.  D. 

Here  is  a  little  plan  which  I  have  used  to  good  advantage  in 
my  small  agency. 

Being  very  busy  with  my  other  duties  in  my  work  for  the 
bank  I  am  obliged  to  do  a  large  part  of  my  soliciting  by  mail. 

As  all  agents  know  it  is  a  great  advantage  to  have  the  date 
of  expiration,  and  the  plan  I  mention  is  for  that  purpose. 

The  letter  herewith  is  a  stock  letter,  but  when  addressed 
personally  with  the  same  color  ribbon  it  is  very  difficult  to  tell 
it  from  an  original  type-written  letter.  It  is  very  essential  to 
have  the  very  best  letter  that  one  can  get,  as  it  will  be  more 
likely  to  receive  the  attention  of  the  addressed.  Make  the  letter 
as  convincing,  brief  and  forceful  as  possible  and  in  most  cases 
offer  something  as  a  reward  for  the  reply.  You  will  see  that  I 
promised  a  handsome  Art  Calendar,  which  I  did  give  to  all  who 
returned  the  postal. 

It  is  advisable  to  have  the  blank  for  reply  all  arranged  for 
return,  including  postage,  the  chances  are  much  better  for  its 
return  than  if  the  recipient  were  expected  to  fill  out  an  envelope 
and  pay  postage. 

I  have  tried  this  plan  twice  and  have  received  an  average 
of  50  per  cent,  in  replies  from  a  mailing  list  made  up  from  rural 
routes,  and  in  both  cases  got  enough  new  business  from  the  cards 
to  pay  all  expenses  and  then  had  expirations  running  from  a  few 
months  to  five  years.  The  last  time  I  sent  out  these  letters,  De- 
cember, I  received  89  expiration  dates,  17  direct  promises  and 
5  new  risks  within  a  week. 

45 


46  GETTING  COUNTRY  BUSINESS 

If  this  suggestion  merits  attention,  I  shall  be  very  glad, 
simply  because  it  has  been  original  with  me  and  that  it  may  be 
mentioned  in  your  valuable  paper. 


The  Letter 

Mr.  John  Jones, 

Enterprise,  R.  F.  D.  No.  1. 
Dear  Sir: 

Newspaper  advertising  usually  brings  results,  it  has  accom- 
plished much  for  me  in  the  insurance  business,  but  I  feel  that 
you  will  read  this  letter  a  little  more  carefully  than  any  ad.  in  a 
newspaper  or  circular. 

The  increase  in  business  in  this  agency  has  been  truly 
gratifying  and  I  am  stimulated  with  a  desire  to  make  this  agency 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  the  county.  The  companies  repre- 
sented are  as  strong  and  liberal  as  any  in  the  world — a  mention 
of  the  word  "Aetna  of  Hartford"  is  sufficient  to  emphasize  this 
point. 

You  are  interested  in  buying  your  insurance  as  cheaply  as 
possible  and  in  having  it  correctly  written  and  well  taken  care 
of — and  I  attribute  the  success  of  this  agency  to  working  along 
these  lines. 

I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  fill  out  the  enclosed  postal,  stating 
amount  of  insurance  now  carried,  either  on  buildings  or  personal 
property  and  date  it  expires,  feeling  sure  that  it  may  result  in 
business  relations,  and  I  assure  you  that  the  favor  will  be  greatly 
appreciated.  DO  IT  NOW  before  you  lay  this  letter  away.  I 
will  remember  your  favor  along  about  Christmas  time  and  mail 
you  a  handsome  art  calendar. 

Yours  very  truly, 

(Personal  Signature.) 


GETTING  COUNTRY  BUSINESS  47 

The  postal  was  one  of  the  government  issue  and  had  my  ad- 
dress printed  on  the  front. 

The  Back  of  the  Postal 
Dear  Sir: 

The  insurance  on  my  property  for  $ expires 

I  have  other  insurance  that  expires 

I  am  in  the  market  for  insurance  on 

Yours  very  truly, 


When  Things  Come  Your  Way 

The  Bizzee  Germ. — Look  out  for  a  seemingly  very  agreeable 
sensation  that  will  be  apt  to  fill  you  with  thoughts  of  cold  cash, 
with  conceited  notions  of  your  own  success  and  with  disregard 
for  the  rights  of  others.  The  germ  is  in  the  air  and  is  known  to 
grow  rapidly  with  each  bright  day  of  fall  activities;  often  the 
deleterious  effect  is  not  noticed  by  the  person  attacked  until 
along  in  the  winter,  when  things  slow  down  for  a  breathing  spell, 
and  there  comes  a  season  of  petty  disappointments  that  shatter 
the  one-man  dream,  that  make  you  feel  smaller  than  the  littlest 
man  you  turned  down  so  abruptly,  that  rub  off  the  veneer  and 
give  you  time  to  realize  that  the  really  successful  men  of  all  ages 
have  taken  a  good  deal  of  time  for  the  consideration  of  problems, 
and,  that  while  they  have  made  the  most  of  the  moments,  they 
have  avoided  the  life  of  the  buzz-saw. 


Cumulative  Results 

Distinctive  Advertising. — An  increasing  number  of  agents 
write  us  to  reproduce  on  the  Household  Inventories,  Labels,  Cus- 
tomers' Expiration  Books  and  other  things  the  same  matter  pre- 
viously imprinted  for  them  on  something  else.  This  produces, 
in  a  degree,  at  least,  a  general  style  of  advertising  for  the 
agency.  We  believe  that  most  agencies — why  not  all? — could 
adopt  distinctive  advertising  to  advantage.  Some  of  the  national 
advertisers  have  been  doing  this  to  a  big  advantage.  One  says 
"Cream  of  Wheat"  as  soon  as  the  white-capped,  white-jacketed, 
white-aproned,  white-toothed  colored  waiter  appears  with  his 
white  bowl,  and  the  "Royal"  can  spells  Royal  Baking  Powder 
wherever  one  sees  it — these  are  illustrations  that  illustrate,  but 
the  same  effect,  though  perhaps  not  to  so  marked  a  degree,  has 
been  accomplished  in  type  by  the  forceful  use  of  plain  black  and 
white — "99  44-100  per  cent,  pure"  stands  for  Ivory  Soap,  "57 
varieties"  is  the  same  thing  as  Heinz — and  there  is  only  one  soap 
powder  in  mind  when  you  "Let  the  Gold  Dust  Twins  do  your 
work." 


48 


A  Photographic  Reproduction 

of  a  Letter  that  Induced 

Personal  Responses 

An  Exact  Size  Copy  of  the  Letter  will  be  Found  in 

the  Envelope  Attached  to  the  Back 

Cover  of  this  Book 


BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 


Analyze  the  letter. 

You  will  find 

First — A  distinctive  letter-head; 

Second — An  entire  absence  of  all  ordinary  ear  marks; 

Third — Frankness,  friendliness  and  absence  of  formality; 

Fourth — Brevity; 

And  if  you  could  see  the  result  sheet  as  did  our  staff  representa- 
tive, you  would  find  that  30  per  cent,  of  the  selected  list  of  500 
to  which  this  letter  was  sent  last  June  responded  either  in  per- 
son or  by  mail. 

Mr.  C.  M.  Gault,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  the  agent  who  wrote  the 
letter,  is  a  firm  believer  in  constant  publicity.  He  says:  "I  am 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  everlastingly  at  it — adver- 
tising being  the  greatest  business  getter  of  the  present  day." 

Mr.  Gault  is  unique  in  his  forms  of  advertising,  but  uses  the 
best  methods  he  can  obtain. 

4  49 


A  Convincing  Folder 


Talbert  &  McNaughton,  of  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  have  just 
issued  a  four-page  folder  that  can  be  used  as  an  envelope  in- 
closure  and  for  house-to-house  distribution  in  the  vicinity  of 
every  local  fire. 

A  medium-weight  India  tint  stock  is  used,  and  on  the 
first  page,  in  bold  letters,  appear  the  words: 


On  the  second  page,  under  the  caption  "Are  You  Pre- 
pared for  a  Fire?"  is  repeated  the  matter  which  was  sug- 
gested on  the  "Front  Office"  page  of  October  21,  1909. 

On  the  third  page  of  the  folder  is  a  list  of  the  Compa- 
nies represented,  followed  by  a  list  of  policyholders  who 
have  recently  had  losses  adjusted  through  the  agency.  The 
page  is  wound  up  with  the  words — "To  get  back  to  the  be- 
ginning, 'Are  you  prepared  for  a  Fire?' " 

The  fourth  page  is  plain  except  for  the  distinctive  card 
which  this  agency  uses  as  its  trade-mark. 


50 


A  Modern  Transfer  System 

An  Article  On  a  Hitherto  Annoying  Subject 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

Ding-Dong — Transfer 

Only  twenty-one  days,  and  three  of  them  rest  ones,  between 
now  and  1910,  makes  it  high  time  to  think  of  old  Mr.  Bugaboo, 
who  has  in  years  past  been  looking  at  your  clean  cuffs  and  sug- 
gesting transferring  the  papers.  Incidentally  he  has  suggested 
worry,  confusion,  bother  and  inability  after  transferring  to  find 

the  paper  you  want. 

Old  Ways 

Some  offices  get  away  from  the  transfer  trouble  by  filing  in 
the  same  file  until  its  tongue  sticks  out,  then  taking  out  a  handful 
from  the  back  and  destroying  them.  Such  a  plan  is  a  great  suc- 
cess as  long  as  you  don't  want  to  find  anything — like  an  empty 
pocketbook,  so  easy  to  carry — but  when  you  really  want  a  paper, 
then  its  different — like  a  company  without  a  reserve.  Other 
offices  keep  a  very  accurate  record  in  the  back  of  the  file  of  just 
when  and  where  you  will  find  the  transferred  papers.  You  find 
that  this  file  was  transferred  to  such  and  such  a  box,  and  then 
you  dig.  In  the  made  shelf  over  in  the  dark  corner  in  the  next 
room.  Pull  down  three  boxes  off  the  top  of  the  right  one  and 
almost  get  it  down,  when  the  sides  give  way. 

The  New  Way 

Here  is  the  O.  B.  Joyful  way:  Provide  filing  equipment  suffi- 
cient for  six  months  or  a  year,  and  at  the  end  of  each  period  sim- 
ply lift  the  entire  contents,  guides  and  all,  out  of  each  drawer 

51 


52  A  MODERN  TRANSFER  SYSTEM 

into  a  transfer  case  of  the  same  size;  label  the  front  of  the  case 
the  same  as  the  file,  add  the  period  covered,  as,  July  to  Decem- 
ber, 1909,  and  stack  the  cases  up. 

All  over. 

The  next  time  the  office  boy  will  do  It. 


Transfer  Files 


A  growing  stack 


How  the  Scheme  Works 

Now,  in  1911  you  want  a  letter  from  the  Smith  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  received  in  the  fall  of  1909.  What  do  you  do?  Go 
to  the  transfer  case  for  the  period,  pull  out  (mind  you,  pull  out) 
the  drawer  and  take  out  the  letter  you  want. 

These  new  transfer  cases  are  built  on  the  sectional  plan, 
stack  up  just  like  cabinets,  and  operate  on  roller  bearings.  Each 
transfer  drawer  is  in  its  own  shell. 


A  MODERN  TRANSFER  SYSTEM  53 

Low  Cost 

The  cases  are  of  all-wood  construction,  but  made  of  cheaper 
lumber  than  the  regular  filing  cabinets,  and  the  finish  is  just  a 
stain — but  they  do  the  trick,  relieve  the  worry,  produce  the  let- 
ters, and  do  not  require  unsightly  shelving. 

On  account  of  the  saving  in  the  cost  of  making,  the  cases  are 
sold  at  a  very  low  price.  So  here  at  least  is  a  within-reach  way 
to  make  a  year  of  better  work — and  hence  more  profit — and 
with  less  wear  on  the  organization  of  the  office  and  the  mortals 
in  it. 


The  above  illustration  is  a  "life-size"  reproduction  of  a 
sticker  prepared  for  general  use. 

In  the  original  the  face  and  the  "Thanks"  are  printed  in 
black  on  yellow  enameled  paper.  The  back  is  gum-coated  ready 
for  sticking. 

It  may  be  applied  (speaking  of  the  label,  not  the  sticum)  in 
many  ways  that  are  now  suggesting  themselves  to  you. 


Writing  Additional  Insurance 

A  Little  Query  That  May  Set  Your  Mind  to  Revolving  a 
Question  of  Importance  to  You 

Wouldn't  it  be  a  great  boon  to  wake  up  some  morning  and  find 
that  the  commercial  value  of  every  piece  of  property  in  your  sec- 
tion of  the  country  had  doubled?  The  additional  policies  would 
double  your  business.  How  about  Tornado  Insurance?  Are  you 
filling  your  coffers  with  premiums  on  this  class  of  business  ? 

Tornadoes  appear  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  and  almost  any- 
where. Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania,  has  been  singularly  free 
from  big  windstorms,  but  the  one  that  passed  over  it  recently  de- 
stroyed more  than  a  third  of  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  property 
and  injured  many  persons.  No  agency  can  cover  all  its  fire  risks 
with  Tornado  policies— but  are  you  getting  your  share? 

A  Tornado  Binder 

Below  is  a  form  suggested  by  a  local  agent  for  the  return 
portion  of  an  advertising  card.  It  is  an  application,  and  if  the 
agent  desires  he  can  by  a  promise  in  the  advertising  matter 

make  it  a  binder. 

The  Form 


Kindly  write  a  Tornado  policy  for years  as  per 

rates  quoted,  for  which  I  agree  to  call  within  15  days. 

$ on  Dwelling. 

$ on  Furniture,  etc. 

$ on  Stable. 

$ on  Horses  and  $ other  contents. 

Name 

Address 

54 


Seasonable 
Advertising  on  a  Scientific  Basis 

Using  the  Windstorm  of  Today  to  Advertise 

Protection  Against  the  Tornado 

of  Tomorrow 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

On  the  following  pages  there  is  a  reproduction  of  the  latest 
idea  in  Tornado  Insurance  advertising. 

It  is  a  "Double  Post-Card,"  printed  in  two  colors. 

On  the  address  side  of  the  card  is  a  half-tone  showing  what 
was  left  after  the  tornado,  which  is  seen  approaching,  passed 
by.  Then  there  is  a  blank  space  for  addressing  the  card. 

On  the  back  of  the  reply  card  is  printed  the  name  and 
address  of  the  local  agency  using  the  scheme. 

The  local  agent  who  writes  tornado  insurance  and  utilizes 
the  Double  Post-Card  virtually  does  this: 

Employs  a  messenger  at  the  very  low  cost  of  one  cent  a  call 
to  go  out  and  bring  to  the  attention  of  his  list  of  prospects  the 
fact  that  the  tornado  season  is  here. 

The  messenger  tarries  and  suggests  at  just  the  right  mo- 
ment— just  when  the  prospect  is  in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind — 
that  if  he  will  attach  a  penny  stamp  to  the  reply  card  he  will 
find  out  just  how  little  it  would  cost  to  feel  at  ease  every  time  a 
windstorm  comes  up. 

To  get  the  most  out  of  tornado  advertising,  the  literature 
should  be  on  hand,  addressed  and  ready  to  put  in  the  mails  on 
receipt  of  the  first  news  of  a  big  tornado — to  take  advantage  of 
psychological  conditions. 

65 


The  Reply 


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T/z,e  6ac/c  of  this  side  bears  the  printed  address  of  the  agency, 
making  a  post  card  ready  for  'mailing. 


56 


The  Story 


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Printed  in  two  colors,  the  effect  is  strong  . 


The  Outgoing  Front 


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Pointed  Arguments 


How  One  Department  Helps 

Another  Until  the  Transaction 

Becomes  an  Endless  Chain 

Making  the  Grooves  Fit 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

It  is  said  of  a  certain  successful  insurance  agent  that  he  has 
his  business  at  his  fingers'  ends  and  always  shakes  hands  with 
all  his  fingers. 

And  his  friends  don't  mean  that  he  attempts  to  carry  all  the 
details  or  that  he  intrudes  business  out  of  place. 

As  to  the  details,  he  could  not  begin  to  carry  them  all  him- 
self, and  because  he  hasn't  tried  to  do  so,  but  has  taken  advan- 
tage of  every  good  plan  for  making  the  details  take  care  of  them- 
selves, he  has  a  free  mind  for  the  big  things. 

What  his  associates  mean,  when  they  say  that  he  has  the 
business  at  his  fingers'  ends,  is  illustrated  by  the  following  little 
story  of  daily  life: 

The  agent  himself  was  not  in  the  office  when  the  transaction 
took  place,  and  that  further  emphasizes  his  ability,  for  his  office 
force  is  just  as  efficient  when  he  is  out  as  when  at  his  desk. 

The  office  does  a  general  insurance  and  real  estate  business. 
The  real  estate  man  had  consummated  a  sale,  Involving  a  trade, 
and  both  parties  were  in  the  office  to  sign  the  papers. 

The  commission  was  a  good  one  and  offered  an  excuse  for 
the  R.  E.  man  to  pat  himself  on  the  back,  tell  a  funny  story  and 
escort  the  customers  to  the  door  with  a  hearty  handshake. 

67 


68  CO-OPERATION  OF  DEPARTMENTS 

That  is  what  happens  over  and  over  again  in  many  offices. 

This  is  what  happened  in  his  office: 

In  the  trade,  "A,"  who  was  moving  from  an  adjoining  town, 
secured  a  house  and  stable,  and  "B"  seven  vacant  lots. 

And  that  afternoon  the  different  departments  of  the  office 
secured : 

The  commission  on  the  real  estate  deal; 

A  fire  policy  on  the  house; 

A  fire  policy  on  the  barn; 

A  promise  to  make  an  inventory  of  the  household  effects  and 
to  place  the  insurance  (binder  issued  for  $1,000 — increased  after 
making  inventory — to  $2,200); 

A  burglary  policy  on  the  household  effects  and  automobile; 

An  automobile  policy; 

A  policy  insuring  against  wind. 

And  later  as  the  result  of  a  follow-up: 

Policies  on  seven  cottages  as  erected; 

Contractor's  indemnifying  policy; 

Tornado  policy  on  seven  cottages; 

Rental  of  seven  cottages. 

Pretty  good — but  hark  to  what  followed: 

As  the  man  in  charge  of  the  rents  leased  the  cottages  he 
explained  the  value  of  the  inventory  schedule  presented  by  the 
agency,  and  suggested  that  one  of  the  inventories  be  made  out  as 
soon  as  the  renter  moved  in.  This  talk  was  followed  up  by  the 
insurance  man  for  additional  policies  when  the  inventories 
showed  underinsurance. 

To  be  sure,  they  were  cottages,  and  the  policies  on  the 
household  risks  averaged  under  a  thousand  dollars,  but  the  five 
risks  secured  aggregated  four  thousand  dollars  and  are  more 
profitable  than  a  single  risk  of  the  same  amount  would  have 
been. 

Why? 

Here  is  the  answer: 

One  of  the  cottagers  holding  a  policy  on  his  household  ef- 


CO-OPERATION  OF  DEPARTMENTS  59 

fects  for  but  $600  has  taken  out  a  five-thousand-dollar  accident 
policy; 

Another  has  given  the  agent  the  insurance  on  his  grocery 
and  stock; 

A  third  placed  his  sixteen  trucking  horses  under  live  stock 
policies  issued  by  the  agency; 

And  another — a  contractor — insures  all  his  "buildings  in  con- 
struction" against  both  fire  and  wind  with  this  agency,  which,  in 
many  cases,  is  enabled  to  write  the  permanent  policies  on  the 
buildings  and  frequently  on  the  contents. 

And  some  folks  wonder  why  the  agency  grows! 


Fundamental  Principles 


These  suggestions  are  from  a  business  woman,  and  whether 
her  office  shall  be  remembered  long  years  after  she  is  out  of  the 
insurance  business  depends  on  whether  the  principles  put  on 
paper  are  put  into  practice. 

Boiled  down  to  the  marrow  this  is  what  she  says: 

"I  find  that  to  be  very  courteous  and  friendly  to  everybody 
gains  friends — and  in  the  end  you  get  their  business. 

Keep  your  work  up — and  it  will  not  fall  back  on  you. 

Have  a  place  for  each  and  every  paper,  keep  it  in  its  place — 
and  you  will  have  no  trouble  in  finding  what  you  want. 

Attend  strictly  to  business,  deserve  and  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  people,  treat  the  expirations  as  customers'  trusts — and  you 
have  a  standing  advertisement  that  brings  results. 

Strength  may  be  added  to  the  line  of  suggestions  by  the 
statement  that  this  woman  has  the  supplies  for  a  company  that 
would  be  received  with  open  arms  by  any  agency  in  America. 


A  Blotter  that  is  Distinctive 


One  that  Appeals  to  a  Man  Because  it  Has  a  Story  to 
Tell  Him  on  a  Vital  Subject 

The  man  who  can  advertise  specifically  through  general 
terms  backs  his  rifle  fire  with  an  artillery  reserve. 

This  is  what  Mr.  Whitehill  did  when  he  distributed  the  blot- 
ter which  is  reproduced  on  the  opposite  page. 

His  statements  are  all  founded  on  facts  and  point  the  way  to 
a  general  reduction  in  rates.  To  heed  them  would  benefit  the 
whole  community,  and  the  fact  that  no  attempt  is  made  to  apply 
them  to  his  agency  alone  puts  the  argument  in  a  strong  light. 

And  that  light  reflects  credit  upon  the  agency  in  a  specific 
way. 

It  focuses  the  general  attention  on  the  advertiser. 

The  blotter  leaves  a  strong  and  pleasant  impression,  sealed, 
as  it  were,  with  the  name  of  the  agency. 

We  suggest  that  such  a  blotter  as  shown  be  followed  up  in- 
side of  thirty  days  with  a  blotter  setting  out  as  simply  and  as 
forcefully  as  possible  the  strength  of  the  companies  represented 
in  the  agency. 


60 


A  DISTINCTIVE  BLOTTER 


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II 


Advertising 
By  the  Light  of  the  Fire 

The  Best  Ad.  I  Ever  Used 

BY  JOHN  M.  KINKEL 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  had  a  standing  arrangement 
with  the  Hutchinson  (Kansas)  Daily  News  to  run  after  each 
account  of  a  fire  the  following  two  lines,  to-wit: 

Are  you  insured  ?    If  not, 
Better  see  John  M.  Kinkel,  Agent. 

I  have  used  this  ad.  for  a  long  time,  and  it  does  not  seem  to 
lose  its  drawing  power. 

The  insurance  business  being  one  almost  entirely  of  "per- 
sonal solicitation,"  the  usual  stereotyped  ad.  does  not  bring  re- 
sults as  it  might  in  other  lines  of  business.  My  experience  with 
this  form  of  advertising  is  that  it  is  catchy  and  attractive  and 
fixes  permanently  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  the  name  of  the 
"agent,"  which,  after  all,  is  the  result  desired. 


62 


i 


OPPORTUNE  ADVERTISING 


63 


M*4 

1 


II  the  residence  of  X  j; 


I 

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1 


a  war 

im 


etching — a  reproduction — shows  the 
"ad  in  operation" 


Waste  or  Worse 

Unprofitable  Advertising  Matter. — There  is  sometimes  just  a 
little  something  that  prevents  a  well-worked-out  advertising 
scheme  from  bringing  in  the  looked-for  returns:  the  absence  of 
the  personal  element — presentation  a  week  too  soon  or  a  day  too 
late — perhaps  something  unlocked  for — but  it  is  not  of  such  that 
we  have  in  mind. 

It's  the  good  advertising,  the  proven  kind — not  brilliant,  per- 
haps, but  pulling,  which,  however,  does  not  pull — that  we  would 
put  in  the  limelight. 

It's  the  well-worded,  argumentative,  clear,  concise,  right-to- 
the-point,  business-producing  literature  or  souvenir  that  the  com- 
panies have  sent  you  or  that  you  have  paid  your  own  hard  cash 
for— AND  THAT  IS  ON  THE  SHELVES— that  we  are  champion- 
ing. 

Get  it  out. 

Put  it  out. 

It  can't  move  of  its  own  accord. 

Remember  that  enough  dynamite  to  split  the  earth  in  twain 
would  be  ineffective  on  the  shelves. 


64 


A  Link  in  an 
Original  Advertising  Campaign 

Education  and  Publicity  Combined  in  Such  a  Way 

As  to  Turn  a  $10.00  Award  Into  a 

Volume  of  Business 

BY  M.  J.  M. 

The  following  copy  of  my  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  local 
newspaper  fully  explains  my  essay  scheme,  which  is  entirely 
original.  I  have  found  that  it  gives  "cards  and  spades"  to  any 
other  form  of  advertising  I  have  ever  tried. 

The  Letter  to  the  Editor 

Dear  Sir: — I  wish  to  offer  the  pupils  of  our  public  schools 
a  substantial  prize  and  encourage  them  to  seek  information 
relating  to  a  matter  which  will  be  of  much  use  to  them  in  after 
life. 

With  this  end  in  view,  I  offer  TEN  DOLLARS  IN  GOLD  to 
the  pupil  who  produces  the  best  essay  on  fire  insurance;  pupils 
are  at  liberty  to  get  outside  help  from  any  source;  essays  must 
be  numbered,  and  not  signed,  in  order  that  the  judges  may  not 
know  whose  essay  they  are  passing  upon. 

The  essays  will  be  judged  by  the  editor  of  one  of  the  princi- 
pal insurance  journals  of  the  country,  and  the  winning  essay 
will  be  published. 

Essays  must  be  finished  and  mailed  to  me  by  November  1st. 

Any  pupil  wishing  to  enter  this  contest  must  call  at  

5  65 


66  ORIGINAL  ADVERTISING 

BROTHERS'  BANK  and  enter  his  or  her  name  with  Mr. 

W I.  L ,  Cashier,  who  will  assign  to  each  applicant 

a  number,  which  number  the  contestant  must  use,  instead  of  his 
or  her  signature,  in  order  that  the  writer  of  the  essay  may  not 
be  known  until  the  essay  shall  have  been  judged. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  fire  insurance  should  be 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  property  owners,  and  I  consider  this 
a  logical  way  of  doing  so  and  of  arousing  the  interest  of  the 
school  children  in  the  subject. 

Any  essay  bearing  the  name  of  the  writer  will  be  thrown 
out. 

About  eight  years  ago  I  offered  a  prize  for  such  an  essay, 
which  was  won  by  Langley  Heinz.  The  essay  was  published  in 
some  of  the  leading  insurance  journals  and  very  favorably  com- 
mented on. 

I  purpose  offering  a  prize,  later  on,  for  a  debate  on  "The 
Relative  Importance  of  Fire  Insurance  and  Banking." 

Respectfully  (THE  AGENT). 


Work  wins;  worry  weakens. 

Worry  weakens;  fear  fells. 

There  are  no  home  runs  on  bunted  balls. 

Work  today  so  that  tomorrow  you  shall  be  thankful 
for  yesterday. 

The  single  North  Star  of  Purpose  has  more  home 
runs  to  its  credit  than  all  the  stars  in  the  whole 
Milky  Way  of  Reflected  Life. 


Turning  a  Dog's  Prank 
Into  a  Magnet  for  Premiums 

An  Exact  Size  Reproduction  of  the  Half  -Tone  and 

Double  Card  Will  be  Found  in  the  Envelope 

Attached  to  the  Back  of  this  Book 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 


The  idea  worked  out  in  this  double  post-card  suggested  itself 
to  Mr.  E.  A.  Stroud,  Braddock,  Pa.,  one  morning  recently  when 
his  dogship,  in  an  exhuberance  of  kindly  feeling  for  his  master, 
jumped  on  a  number  of  policies  which  lay  on  the  desk  awaiting 
signature. 

Mr.  Stroud  stated  to  a  staff  representative  of  Rough  Notes 
that  this  method  of  securing  expirations  seemed  to  strike  a  re- 
sponsive chord,  and  that  the  expense  of  sending  out  5,000  cards 
was  repaid  many  times  over  within  ninety  days.  "I  made  a  $50 
premium  from  one  of  these  cards  to-day,"  said  Mr.  Stroud. 

The  back  of  the  "return  card"  bore  the  printed  address  of  the 
Stroud  agency. 

The  back  of  the  other  half  contained  a  well  worded  adver- 
tisement of  the  strength  of  the  companies  represented  and  the 
scope  of  insurance  the  office  writes. 

67 


Advertising  that  Stands  Out 

Marking  the  Policy. — A  rubber  stamp  on  a  policy  is  a 
good  deal  like  a  love  letter  on  a  business  letter-head.  Of 
course,  they  both  go — sometimes,  and  then  again  there  are 
lots  of  bachelors.  And  all  agents  don't  hear  "yes"  when 
the  policy  expires.  "Forgotten" — no,  not  that,  but  some- 
how the  assured  seems  to  know  more  intimately  the  agent 
who  wrote  the  other  policy  that  expires  at  the  same  time. 

Is  it  the  agent  who  is  better  known,  or  the  label  on  the 
policy? 


68 


Policy  Labels 


Reproduced  from  a  high  grade  of  labels 
made  with  oil  colors 


Drifting  or  Sailing 

High  Price  Waste. — Fifteen  minutes  yawning,  five  min- 
utes at  slow  speed  in  dressing,  ten  minutes  on  unimportant 
newspaper  details,  an  extra  quarter  hour  at  noon — total 
forty-five  minutes  lost — even  if  you  break  the  speed  limit 
during  the  time  you  think  you  work,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
time  spent  without  direction  during  the  evening  hours  of 
relaxation.  Three  hundred  and  thirteen  times  45  equals 
14,085  minutes,  234  hours,  $468.00  at  the  rate  established  by 
one  man  working  under  the  direction  of  our  Promotion  De- 
partment— but  at  one-third  the  rate  the  minutes  would  mean 
over  $150.00  a  year,  while  on  the  other  hand  twice  as  many 
minutes  saved  at  the  first  rate  would  mean  nearly  a  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  extra.  It's  the  difference  between  drift- 
ing and  sailing;  it's  the  difference  between  making  a  living 
and  living;  it's  the  difference  between  working  and 
worrying. 

The  fire  loss  in  the  United  States  is  a  shame  and  dis- 
grace and  is  arousing  the  thinking  men  of  the  commercial 
world,  but  the  fire  loss  looks  small  when  compared  with 
the  time  loss — sixteen  million  adult  persons  (one  to  every 
five  of  population)  losing  an  hour  and  a  half  a  day  and 
working  on  an  average  valuation  of  two  dollars  a  day  totals 
a  daily  loss  of  six  million  dollars.  Can  you  afford  your 
share  of  the  loss?  Can  the  ones  whom  you  assume  to  care 
for  stand  it?  Which  reminds  us  of  the  story  of  the  newly 
married  colored  woman  who  answered  the  question  whether 
her  husband  was  a  good  provider,  by  replying:  "Yes,  in- 
deed he  is;  las'  week  he  got  me  foah  washin's  and  dis  week 
five."  We  assume  the  gentleman  also  had  some  spare  time. 


69 


An  Inexpensive  Sticker 
That  Calls  Attention  to  Vital  Facts 


How  An  Agent  May  Do  the  Policyholder  and 
Himself  a  Good  Turn  at  the  Same  Time 


The  local  underwriter  stands  in  an  almost  privileged  position 
with  the  average  customer. 

Not  to  protect  the  customer  by  every  means  possible  is  to 
fall  short  of  doing  his  entire  duty. 

For  this  reason  we  welcome  the  opportunity  to  present  an 
exact  reproduction  of  the  little  sticker  which  Edward  C.  Wehl, 
of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  is  affixing  to  the  front  of  all  policies  he  writes. 

But  it  would  not  do  for  the  Fly-by-Night  agent  to  put  such  a 
sticker  on  his  policies,  as  the  first  paragraph  would  rather  de- 
tract from  than  add  to  their  value. 

How  many  policyholders  know  that  the  policy  for  which  they 
have  paid  and  on  which  they  rely  may,  through  acts  of  their  own, 
be  absolutely  worthless  to  them? 

That  a  policyholder  may  be  straightforward  and  perfectly 
honest,  and  yet  render  his  policy  valueless,  makes  it  imperative 
that  he  know  at  least  the  ordinary  things  that  will  avoid  it. 

And  the  agent  is  the  man  to  tell  him  of  the  dangers. 


70 


The  Sticker 


IMPORTANT! 

This  Company  has  the  distinction  of  paying  its 
losses  promptly  and  giving  a  square  deal  in  every 
case  in  which  it  becomes  interested.  Were  I  not 
thoroughly  convinced  of  its  honorable  intention 
toward  the  insured  after  a  fire,  you  would  be  un- 
able to  obtain  the  policy  from  me  at  any  price. 

Please  read  and  comply  strictly  with  all  the  con- 
ditions of  the  policy,  notifying  this  office  promptly 
of  any  change  in  location,  increase  in  hazard,  or 
loss. 


71 


Reading  the  Agency 

Advertisement  While  the  Fire 

Whistle  Blows 

A  Small  Town  Suggestion 

BY  JOHN  BRIGHT 

I  regret  very  much  that  the  thing  that  has  shown  the  largest 
return  to  me  can  not  be  more  generally  used,  but,  as  you  can  see 
at  a  glance,  it  will  only  be  applicable  to  small  towns,  yet  the  idea 
may  act  as  a  suggestion  for  something  along  similar  lines. 

Wildwood  is  located  on  an  island  called  Five  Mile  Beach, 
and  comprises  Angelsea,  Wildwood,  Holly  Beach  and  Wildwood 
Crest,  all  thriving  seaside  resorts  which  have  the  finest  bathing 
beach  in  the  whole  world. 

As  our  fire  alarm  is  sounded  on  a  powerful  steam  whistle, 
and  the  location  of  the  fire  indicated  by  the  blasts,  every  one  is 
very  anxious  to  have  one  of  the  signal  cards  I  have 
issued  as  an  agency  advertisement,  and  is  reading  it 
while  the  alarm  is  being  sounded — a  time  when  one  is  sure  to 
think  of  insurance. 

I  want  to  ask  when  one  could  find  a  better  time  to  have 
his  name  presented  as  an  insurance  agent? 


72 


The  Card  that  Speaks  for  the  Agency 


Fire   Alarm   Box   Numbers 


HOLLY  BEACH 

Box  14.     Learning  and  Pacific 

JOHN  BRIGHT 

15.  Rio  Grande  and  Arctic 

Fire  Insurance 

16.  Taylor  and  Pacific 

Bargains  in  Real  Estate 
/'12othernumben\ 
Vand  locations.       / 


This  card,  measuring  10%  x  14  inches,  is  printed  on  substantial  stock 
with  red  border  and  slightly  tapering  top,  punched  for  hanging.  The  in- 
formation is  in  bold  black  and  the  interlined  advertising  in  red. 


73 


An  Appreciated  Courtesy 


Souvenirs  That  Are  Kept  for  Their 
Intrinsic  Value 


There  are  always  two  ways  of  doing  a  thing — and  usually  a 
"neither"  way. 

No  successful  agent  would  ever  think  of  offending  a  cus- 
tomer, but  how  many  agents  rise  above  the  "neither"  way? 

How  many,  after  securing  a  customer,  show  the  out-of-the- 
ordinary  interest  that  acts  as  a  magnet  for  future  premiums? 

How  many  catch  the  spirit  of  shoulder-to-shoulder  work  and 
take  a  co-operative  interest — a  real  interest  in  the  customers' 
interests? 

The  agent  who  does,  discovers  that  the  customer,  while  he 
may  smoke  the  agent's  cigars  and  forget  them — if  not  too  bad — 
can  not  forget,  and  would  not  if  he  could,  the  attractively  cov- 
ered record  of  the  customer's  insurance  written  up  and  quietly 
presented  with  the  compliments  of  the  agency. 

The  appreciation  grows  each  time  there  is  occasion  to  refer 
to  the  details  of  a  policy. 

The  customers'  expiration  record  keeps  books  for  the  as- 
sured, tells  him  just  the  amount  of  insurance  he  is  carrying  under 
each  classification,  shows  him  the  date  of  each  expiration,  the 
amount  of  each  policy,  together  with  the  rate  and  the  premium. 

It  not  only  answers  his  questions,  but,  whenever  the  record 
is  consulted,  sees  to  it  that  the  agency  is  remembered  for  proper 
thanks — not  the  perfunctory  brand,  but  the  sort  that  only  wait 
for  an  opportunity  to  repay  on  a  business  basis. 

74 


Customers'  Expiration  Books 


1  The  customer's  appreciation  grows  each  time 

there  is  occasion  to  refer  to  the  details 

of  a  policy." 


There  are  attract- 
ively bound,  flat 
open  hi;/  honk* 
that  provide 
for  the  data 
desired. 


The  form  here  pictured 
ft  rery  convenient  xiz( 
for  /Hint/    ir  it  h 
the  )><>l  ie  iex. 


PLAN  YOUR  WORK  THEN  WORK  YOUR  PLAN 


Assuming  that  a  person  follows  the  cardinal  rules  such  as 
honesty  of  purpose  and  action,  and  has  a  fair  degree  of  health 
and  horse  sense,  there  is  no  better  rule  for  success,  be  it  of 
things  spiritual,  social  or  commercial,  than  the  injunction  above. 
This  quotation  we  have  printed  on  6x9  crimson  red  wall  cards,  in 
black  type,  with  a  green  line  border.  Copies  of  the  card,  punched 
for  hanging,  will  be  sent  on  request  to  all  Front  Office  members 
desiring  a  copy. 


75 


A  Business  Card  that  is  Kept  on 
Account  of  Its  Clean  Humor 


From  the  land  of  the  oleander  and  the  alligator  we  are  get- 
ting many  evidences  of  insurance  activity. 

The  latest  to  reach  us  is  the  advertising  card  of  B.  P.  Inman, 
of  Milton,  Fla. 

On  the  back  of  his  business  card  appears  the  following, 
which  strikes  us  (we  are  speaking  impersonally)  as  a  catchy 
form  of  good  advertising. 


The  Kiss 


A  kiss  is  a  peculiar  proposition.  Of  no  use  to 
one,  yet  absolute  bliss  to  two.  The  small  boy  gets  it 
for  nothing,  the  young  man  has  to  steal  it  and  the  old 
man  has  to  buy  it.  The  baby's  right,  the  lover's 
privilege,  the  hypocrite's  mask.  To  a  young  girl,  faith; 
to  a  married  woman,  hope;  and  to  an  old  maid,  charity. 

No  matter  what  the  case  may  be,  you  will  always 
be  on  the  safe  side  if  you  place  your  insurance  with 
B.  F.  Inman,  the  man  with  plenty  of  time  to  give  your 
business  proper  attention. 


Mr.  Inman  uses  a  series  of  envelope  inclosures. 


76 


Assisting  the  Prospect  to 

Remember  the  Agency  at  the 

Right  Time 

A  Plan  to  Help  Keep  Promises 


BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 


The  surest  way  of  doing  the  greatest  amount  of  work  in  the 
least  possible  time,  and  always  on  time,  is  to  handle  every 
transaction  but  once  and  that  once  when  it  first  comes  up. 

Such  procedure  is  possible  a  great  many  more  times  than 
one  would  believe  who  is  not  accustomed  so  to  dispose  of 
matters. 

It  is  the  plan  of  the  men  who  are  known  the  country  over 
for  getting  things  done. 

But,  of  course,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  dispose  of  every 
matter  that  comes  up  then  and  there;  sometimes  action  is  de- 
pendent upon  some  future  event.  Where  this  is  so  the  papers 
in  the  transaction  should  be  filed  ahead  in  a  follow-up  system 
or  a  concrete  memorandum  made  and  put  in  a  follow-up  tickler. 

This  leads  up  to  the  point  of  this  article: 

It  very  frequently  happens  that  a  man  intends  to  take  up 
the  subject  of  insurance  at  a  certain  time  and  may  even  promise 
to  do  so,  but  when  the  time  comes  his  mind  is  so  crowded 
with  the  affairs  of  the  day  that  the  deferred  matter  is  lost  sight 
of  and  action  is  thus  delayed,  probably  to  the  detriment  of  both 
parties  concerned. 

77 


78         HELPING  THE  OTHER  FELLOW  TO  REMEMBER 

On  the  opposite  page  will  be  found  a  memory  tickler  card  of 
the  right  size  for  filing  in  a  3x5  card  index  follow-up  system. 

Insert  at  the  top  of  the  card  the  date  you  are  going  to  write 
us,  and  in  the  body  of  the  card  make  a  memorandum  of  the 
things  you  intend  to  order. 

Our  Supply  Department  would  be  glad  to  have  you  take  this 
suggestion  to  heart,  but  the  purpose  of  the  illustration  is  to 
suggest  to  you  how  you  might  incorporate  just  such  a  card  in 
your  advertising,  accompanying  it  with  a  story  something  like 
the  one  you  are  reading — fully  explaining  the  use  of  the  card 
and  asking  that  the  man  to  whom  you  are  sending  it  file  it  in  his 
memory  tickler  file  so  that  he  will  not  overlook  letting  you  hear 
from  him  when  the  proper  time  arrives. 

Whether  the  recipient  uses  the  blank  or  not  the  form  of  ad- 
vertising will  be  so  out-of-the-ordinary  that  it  will  impress  itself 
upon  him  and  thus  make  a  good  advertisement  for  your  agency. 


The  man  who  is  always  missing  the  train  and  walk- 
ing to  the  next  station  works  harder  T)ut  accomplishes 
less  than  the  man  who  rides. 


The  firsts  count  highest  in  almost  everything  except 
time — when  the  seconds  are  the  supreme  things  of 
the  minute. 


HELPING  THE  OTHER  FELLOW  TO  REMEMBER        79 


a 


a  i 


00 


We  suggest  that  where  this  blank  is  incorporated  in  adver- 
tising matter  that  the  outline  of  the  form  be  lightly  perforated 
to  suggest  detaching. 


An  Attractive  Insert  that 

Culminates  in  the  Catch  Line 

of  the  Agency 

"Herewith  is  a  copy  of  an  'insert'  which  I  had  printed  and 
have  pasted  on  the  inside  margin  of  the  first  page  of  the  300 
copies  of  'Tips  on  Fire  Insurance'  which  came  to  hand  several 
days  ago." 

The  above  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  H.  B.  Caldwell, 
manager  of  the  insurance  department  of  the  Arkansas  Valley 
Trust  Company  of  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  has  reference  to  the  attrac- 
tive advertisement  which  appears  on  the  next  page,  and  which  in 
the  original  was  printed  in  two  colors  and  the  full  page  length 
of  a  copy  of  "Tips." 

"Call  on  Caldwell"  is  a  catch  line  that  is  being  used  in  all 
the  literature  put  out  by  these  people. 

The  "Tips  on  Fire  Insurance"  to  which  reference  is  made 
above  and  for  which  the  page  advertisement  was  prepared,  is  a 
souvenir  booklet  of  10  pages.  It  is  the  size  of  a  folded  policy 
and  filled  to  overflowing  with  answers  to  questions  the  policy- 
holder  should  ask  or  be  certain  about.  Tastily  gotten  up  for  pre- 
sentation by  agents  to  their  customers,  it  serves  as  a  most  excel- 
lent reminder  that  the  agent's  interest  does  not  expire  with  the 
writing  of  the  policy. 

As  the  average  man  does  not  know  nearly  as  much  about  an 
insurance  policy  as  he  feels  that  he  does,  the  book  gracefully 
puts  him  under  obligations  by  presenting  points  that  cost  noth- 
ing to  learn  before  the  fire  and  that  it  is  too  late  to  learn  after  a 
loss.  It  is  a  forceful  and  lasting  advertisement  when  used  in  a 
campaign  for  new  business. 

80 


AN  ATTRACTIVE  INSERT 


81 


You  Have 

heard  of  the  excitement  in  a  mining 
camp  when  a  miner,  who  has 
previously  worked  an  unprofitable 
claim  announces  that  he  has 

Struck    Pay    Dirt 

Well!  That's  just  what  you've  struck 
in  this  little  booklet.  If  you  will 
him  its  pages  and  carefully  scruti- 
nize its  contents,  as  the  miner  does 
the  dirt  and  ore  turned  by  his  pick 
and  shovel,  you  will  find 

Nuggets  of  Pure  Gold 

While  there  is  nothing  complicated 
about  Fire  Insurance  Policies,  there 
are  few  that  really  understand  them, 
simply  because  they  do  not  take 
time  to  read  them. 

If  You  Want    More 

information  as  to  the  terms  and  con- 
ditions of  Standard  Policies  and  the 
forms  and  clauses  usually  attached 
thereto,  these  "tips"  will  give  you 
the  leading  points  in  a  clear  and 
concise  manner. 

When  present  policies  expire, 
or  additional  lines  are  needed, 
it  will  pay  you  to 

Call   on    Caldwell 


How  Paper  and  Ink  Help 
One  Agency 

The  Story  of  an  Office  that  Systematizes  the  Details 

REAL    ESTATE   SETTLEMENTS. 

There  is  shown  on  the  opposite  page  a  very  complete  form 
of  "Settlement"  envelope  that  originated  in  the  Insurance  and 
Real  Estate  offices  of  the  George  S.  Davis  Co.,  of  McKees  Rocks, 
Pennsylvania. 

A  detailed  explanation  is  unnecessary  as  the  face  of  the 
envelope  tells  the  story. 

The  arrangement  of  the  matter  on  the  envelope  is  the  same 
as  shown  except  that  there  are  seventeen  lines  in  the  space  pro- 
vided for  the  "Statement"  instead  of  the  four  reproduced.  The 
envelope  is  of  the  regular  "long  envelope"  size — i%x9%  inches — 
and  of  light  manila  stock. 

Two  points  in  particular  are  gained  by  the  use  of  such  an 
envelope. 

First:  There  is  a  record  of  things  to  be  done,  to  be  checked 
against,  so  that  nothing  is  overlooked,  and, 

Second:  All  the  data  and  papers  are  at  all  times  assembled 
ready  for  instant  reference. 

It  is  schemes  such  as  this — systematic  short-cuts — that  en- 
able some  offices  to  do  more  business  than  others  and  to  per- 
form such  satisfactory  service  that  they  keep  on  doing  MORE 
business  and  still  have  time  to  enjoy  the  bigness  of  life  while 
others  fume,  fret  and  grumble — always  overlooking  details  and 
searching  for  misplaced  memorandums. 

82 


PAPERS  AND  DATA  TOGETHER          83 


SETTLEMENT 


Owner 


Buyer 


Attorney 


Deal  Closed 


New  Deed 


Mortgage 


Re-Liens 


Taxes 


Sewer  Receipt 


Paving  Receipt 


Insurance  Policy 


Who  to  notify 


Old  Deed  Rec.  Vol. Page 

Remarks 


STATEMENT 

DATE  TOTAL 


(17  of  these  lines.) 


Once  for  All  Time 

Our  Sentiments. — Two  colored  men  waxed  warm  in 
discussion,  and,  paying  no  attention  to  the  collected  on- 
lookers, one  clinched  the  argument  with: 

"Ah  don't  cair  what  nobody  says,  Ah  knows  hits  just 
as  farh  frum  dis  yer  cornah  to  dat  fust  cornah  as  hit  is 
frum  dat  cornah  back  heah." 

And  yet  there  are  persons — even  under  whose  eyes  this 
will  come — who  are  going  twice  over  the  same  ground  each 
day  in  order  to  eke  out  an  existence;  eke  it  is,  for  the  man 
who  does  not  take  advantage  of  measurements  once  made, 
of  the  facts  the  other  fellow  has  brought  to  light,  of  the 
approved  and  improved  methods  of  doing  things,  instead 
of  having  time  for  planning  a  concentration  of  his  efforts 
on  the  important  points  of  the  work — plods  on.  Would  it 
not  be  worth  while  to  spend  an  ever-increasing  amount  of 
time — early  or  late — some  time  each  day,  in  getting  at  the 
essential  points  of  one  situation,  of  taking  advantage  of 
what  others  have  done? 

It  pays  to  command  the  work  rather  than  to  be  com- 
manded by  it. 


84 


A  Loose-Leaf  System 
For  Keeping  the  Field  Records 

The  Most  Up-to-Date  in  Office  Systems 
Applied  to  the  Field 

The  field  men  who  are  now  using  the  Loose-Leaf  System  for 
keeping  a  record  of  agency  conditions  are  hereby  notified  that  we 
have  added  an  Inspection  Record  Sheet  to  the  system. 

This  form  was  designed  by  Charles  A.  Wehmeyer,  State 
Agent  of  the  Montgomery  &  Funkhouser  General  Agency,  and 
provides  space  on  each  sheet  for  the  tabulation  of  the  essential 
data  regarding  28  risks. 

Field  men  who  have  not  been  using  the  Loose-Leaf  form  of 
record  book  would  find  it  a  great  boon.  A  single  Agency  Record 
sheet  provides  on  one  side  for  a  complete  summary  by  months 
for  four  consecutive  years,  a  general  resume  of  six  additional 
years,  a  classification  of  risks,  and  a  memorandum  of  dates  of 
visits,  while  on  the  other  side  space  is  provided  for  data  con- 
cerning the  "Members  of  Firm;  Agency  Established;  Appointed; 
Discontinued;  Bond;  Sureties;  Fire  Protection  as  regards — Ap- 
paratus, Steamers,  Hose,  Men,  Source  of  Water  Supply,  Domestic 
and  Fire  Pressure,  and  Hydrants;  Other  Companies  Represented" 
— and  liberal  space  for  Memoranda. 

The  sheets  fit  into  a  compact  flexible  leather  binder.  They 
are  filed  alphabetically  by  towns  and  classified  by  states.  No 
index  is  necessary,  as  the  whole  is  self-indexing,  making  it  pos- 
sible to  open  the  book  direct  at  the  page  desired. 

Field  Men  covering  more  than  one  state  desire  a  leaf  of  a 
different  color  for  each  state,  so  that  the  Agency  Record  sheets 

85 


86 


KEEPING  THE  FIELD  RECORDS 


are  carried  in  white,  azure,  primrose,  pink,  russet  and  gray,  and 
may  be  ordered  assorted  to  meet  conditions. 

It  is  intended  that  the  Inspection  Record  sheets  be  filed  just 
back  of  the  Agency  Record  sheet,  so  the  Inspection  Record  sheets 
are  printed  on  white  only. 

An  outfit  is  not  expensive. 


The  Agency  Record  Form 


P 

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b  ! 

p 

o  1 
P 

Front  of  Record.    Size  3%  x  7  inches. 


O 

o 

c! 

o 
o 


Back  of  Record.     All  sheets  are  punched  to  fit  the  binder  and 
the  binder  fits  the  pocket. 


A  LOOSE  LEAF  SYSTEM 


87 


The  Agency  Record 


The  book  complete.    This  cover  is  of  full  flexible  black  grained 
leather.    The  leaves  are  inserted  easily. 


The  Inspection  Record  Form 


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INSPECTION  RECORD 

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REMARKS 

The  new  form.    Makes  the  System  Comprehensive. 


The  Story  of  a  Policy  that  Did  Not  Expire 

An  Indianapolis  agent  tells  a  good  story  on  how  lie  re- 
newed a  policy  which,  with  normal  treatment,  would  have 
been  lost. 

He  was  notified  some  two  or  three  months  before  the 
expiration  that  the  policy  would  be  given  to  a  friend  and 
that  the  agent  need  not  renew.  Nevertheless,  knowing  the 
dilatory  habits  of  the  policyholder,  he  said  nothing,  but 
wrote  up  a  renewing  policy,  and  with  it  in  his  pocket  saun- 
tered into  the  policyholder's  place  of  business  five  minutes 
before  twelve;  got  his  attention  and  engaged  him  in  con- 
versation until  the  hands  of  the  clock  pointed  to  two  min- 
utes to  noon.  Then  the  agent  remarked  that  he  had  come 
down  for  the  purpose  of  renewing  the  policy,  and  was  again 
told  that  it  would  be  given  to  another  when  the  time  ex- 
pired. The  agent  informed  the  policyholder  that  that  would 
be  in  60  seconds  and  produced  the  new  policy,  which  he 
laid  on  the  desk  before  the  man,  who  realized  that  it  would 
be  better  to  be  "safe  than  sorry,"  which  he  remarked  as  he 
wrote  out  his  check  for  the  premium. 

Moral:  If  the  renewal  is  promised  you,  get  more  than 
a  promise;  get  the  business  by  delivering  your  policy  be- 
fore the  other  one  expires. 


How  to  Keep 

The  Field  Conditions  Under 
Your  Thumb 

An  Adaptation  of  a  Mercantile  Plan  that  Will  Appeal  to 

Regular  Field  Men  and  Local  Agents 

Doing  Special  Work 


The  civil  engineer  idea  applied  to  business  produces  results. 
Charting  the  conditions  is  always  the  first  step. 

No  one  knows  more  thoroughly  than  does  the  man  in  the 
field  the  difficulty  in  keeping  in  the  mind's  eye  a  true  picture  of 
every  condition  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  able  to  work  the  most  ef- 
fectively. 

On  this  page  we  present  an  adaptation  of  the  map  and  tack 
system,  which  has  been  in  use  by  territorial  managers  for  a  suf- 
ficient length  of  time  to  make  positive  its  value. 

In  a  simple,  complete  and  practical  manner  this  system  will 
present  at  all  times  a  birdseye  view  of  the  entire  territory,  with 
all  the  details  vital  to  success. 

An  outfit  for  a  single  State  consists  of  a  dust-proof  cabinet, 
containing  a  light,  strong,  shallow  tray  (mounted  on  which  is  a 
map  of  the  State)  and  special  tacks,  with  heads  of  different  colors. 
The  border  lines  of  the  counties  are  shown  in  colors  on  the  map 
and  the  towns  in  plain  black  letters  on  a  white  background,  while 
the  steam  and  electric  lines  are  designated  both  by  colors  and 
figures. 

89 


90  A  FIELD  CHART 

In  the  upper  left  corner  of  the  miniature  map  here  shown 
will  be  seen  a  "Code"  of  tack  signals.  A  reading  of  the  code 
practically  explains  the  entire  working  of  the  scheme. 

The  person  controlling  the  territory  sticks  a  white  headed 
tack  in  the  name  of  each  town  from  which  regular  reports  are  not 
being  received;  into  the  names  of  the  towns  where  the  agen- 
cies are  behind  with  accounts,  a  black-headed  tack;  into  the 
towns  where  the  agency  is  weak,  a  blue  tack  with  cross  lines; 
into  the  towns  where  it  is  desirable  to  have  an  agency,  but  none 
exists,  a  light-headed  tack  with  cross  lines;  into  the  towns  where 
there  are  losses  to  adjust,  a  spotted  tack,  and  into  the  towns 
where  there  are  special  conditions,  a  tack  with  a  plaid  head. 

When  a  map  has  thus  been  stuck  it  is  possible  to  lay  out  a 
route  which  will  accomplish  the  most  good  in  the  shortest  time. 
A  study  of  the  map  at  intervals  of  a  week  or  two  will  prevent 
overlooking  any  serious  condition. 


To  finish  almost,  is  often  to  fail  most  pitiably — piti- 
ably because  of  the  wasted  effort  that  would  have 
done  things  if  supported  to  the  end. 

Aviation  will,  not  help  the  solicitor  who  is  already 
flying  past  his  Prospects  and  over  his  opportunities. 


The  Field  Chart 


The  sticking  of  the  map  in  the  first  place  is  an  easy  opera- 
tion— except  that  the  chances  are  you  will  find  out  for  many  a 
day  that  additional  tacks  should  have  been  stuck,  emphasizing 
the  need  long  ago  of  such  a  system. 

When  once  ready  for  operation,  it  becomes  a  permanent 
chart  which  may  be  changed  instantly  and  kept  up  to  date  on  all 
conditions. 

91 


Quoted 


'Plan  your  work  then  work  your  plan.' 


"Genius  is  perspiration — not  inspiration/' — Thomas 
A.  Edison. 


"People  need  to  be  reminded    more    than    to    be 
taught/' 


"The  sluggard  turneth  upon  his  bed  like  a  door  upon 
its  hinges/' 


"Constant  dripping  wears  away  the  stone" — irre- 
gardless  of  the  cause. 


"There  is  a  good  deal  of  difference  between  being 
smart  and  being  wise/' 


"The  world  generally  gives  its  admiration  not  to  the 
man  who  does  what  nobody  else  attempts  to  do,  but  to 
the  man  who  does  best  what  multitudes  do  well" — 
Macaulay. 

92 


A  Business  Sermon 

"Six  Days  Shalt  Thou  Labor—" 

Rest! 

But  when? 

After  six  days  of  labor. 

The  Ten  Commandments  from  beginning  to  end  lay  down  the 
law  for  man's  success. 

We  live  in  the  twentieth  century  of  sidestepping  and  man  is 
still  a  baby  in  understanding. 

Put  in  six  days  in  doing  with  a  will  the  things  to  be  done 
and  let  the  seventh  bring  healthy  rest  for  body  and  soul. 

If  six  days  out  of  seven  don't  produce  the  results,  rest  as- 
sured that  seven  out  of  seven  will  not  do  it. 

Do  you  earn  your  seventh  day? 

If  not,  would  it  not  be  wise  to  find  out  what  is  wrong? 

Say  to  a  man:  Saw  that  rick  of  wood  by  Saturday  night  and 
you  shall  rest  on  Sunday.  He  works  all  week  with  a  dry  saw 
and  on  Sunday  evening  is  a  cord  behind. 

Lost  his  rest  and  starts  the  new  week  with  a  load. 

A  strip  of  bacon  would  have  greased  the  saw,  completed  the 
work,  brought  a  day  of  blessings  and  opened  a  new  week  at  the 
scratch. 

What  do  you  think  of  his  excuse  that  he  couldn't  afford  the 
bacon? 

Poor  logic — but  the  chances  are  you  are  using  the  same 
excuse. 

Haven't  time  for  this  and  that  that  ought  to  be  done. 

Why? 

Because  of  the  lack  of  a  device — a  tool — or  because  some- 
thing else  is  consuming  too  much  time — is  lapping  over. 

Last  week  one  of  our  general  department  desks  got  con- 

93 


94  A  BUSINESS  SERMON 

gested,  things  piled  high,  little  details  received  attention  ahead 
of  weighty  matters — other  little  details  did  not  get  attention  and 
big  things  got  tangled. 

What  happened? 

The  details  of  the  wreck  are  unimportant,  the  clearing  of  the 
congestion  is  all-important: 

We  spread  the  responsibility  and  added  working  tools. 

Here  is  a  sample  of  one  move:  It  is  important  that  we 
should  know  what  the  magazines  say  about  our  publications  and 
all  reviews  of  our  books  as  received  are  sent  to  the  desk  in  ques- 
tion. Formerly  they  were  read,  clipped  and  filed  by  the  depart- 
ment manager.  Now — as  the  result  of  the  dictation  of  instruc- 
tions to  a  competent  assistant — the  clipping,  the  pasting  on  a 
form  sheet,  the  indexing  and  filing  will  be  done  automatically, 
promptly  and  with  exactly  the  same  results. 

And  the  time  required  to  give  the  instructions  equaled  just 
the  time  required  to  handle  a  single  clipping. 

Are  you  loading  yourself  with  work  that  some  one  else  might 
do,  could  do,  should  do — or  doing  the  work  under  conditions  that 
could  be  improved? 


Big  Little  Factors 


Mighty  Midgets. — Little  things  do  count.  In  feeding  a  press 
printers  at  times  have  difficulty  in  getting  the  second  color  to 
register — to  print  in  the  exact  spot — even  on  sheets  as  small  as 
letterheads.  Why?  Because  of  the  fact  that  the  little  sheet  has 
expanded  or  shrunk  in  proportion  to  the  difference  in  moisture 
between  the  stock  and  press-rooms. 

A  little  atmospheric  change  is  all,  but  that  unseen  change 
outwits  the  heavy  presses.  Look  yourself  in  the  inner  eye  and 
drive  home  the  sermon — it  fits  you  and  it  fits  your  business 
somewhere. 


Why  Some  Agencies 

Have  the  Doughnut — Others 

the  Hole 

% 
When  a  Dollar  Spent  Beats  One  Added  to 

the  Bank  Balance 

ON  THE  RAGGED  EDGE 

How  many  of  us  just  hang  on!  Daily  we  catch  the  car  of  life 
by  the  rear  handle  and  breathless  drag  ourselves  upon  the  plat- 
form, lucky  if  we  get  inside  and  luckier  still  if  there  is  left  a 
strap  to  hang  on. 

And  then  there  is  the  chap  that  has  more  miles  of  railroads 
than  we  have  pennies;  more  banks  than  we  have  suits. 

What's  wrong?    Who's  wrong? 

Each  one  has  24  hours  of  the  same  duration!  One  gets  up  in 
the  morning  with  a  vision  and  a  plan.  The  other  gets  up  a  few 
minutes  late  to  breakfast. 

One  works  on  a  systematic  basis — though  the  plan  may  be 
so  big  that  a  day's  share  in  it  shows  no  ear-marks  of  system. 
The  other  is  willing  to  do,  but  waits. 

TIME  IS  THE  GREAT  FACTOR 

One  selects  the  things,  incidents,  circumstances  to  fit  his 
conditions  and  the  bank  takes  pleasure  in  discounting  his  paper. 
The  other  is  driven  by  circumstances;  he  fusses  along  and  keeps 
a  bank  balance  that  requires  only  a  little  cross  line  to  make  it 
look  like  an  ox  yoke. 

One  realizes  that  under  normal  conditions  tfce  first  asset  in 
life  is  time;  that  every  minute  has  a  certain  value.  The  other 
THINKS  he  will  catch  up  tomorrow. 

95 


96  WORKING  FOR  RESULTS 

TWO  CLASSES  OF  AGENTS 

Getting  down  to  near  personalities:  There  are  two  classes 
of  Local  Fire  Insurance  Agents.  One  class  runs  the  business  on 
a  schedule  and  the  business  is  made  to  live  up  to  the  schedule. 
The  other  drifts. 

One  realizes  that  time  lost  in  handling  any  part  of  the  office 
details  is  exactly  equivalent  to  burning  up  so  much  money.  That 
an  expenditure  of  a  certain  sum  to  equip  the  office  with  up-to-date 
systems  and  filing  devices  is  an  investment  just  as  truly  as  if  the 
money  were  put  into  bonds.  Such  an  agent  puts  twenty-five,  fifty, 
a  hundred  or  five  hundred  dollars  into  the  things  needed  and  does 
it  on  this  sort  of  a  calculation:  A  $100.00  expenditure  for  sys- 
tems and  devices  that  will  last  ten  years  ought  to  make  a  saving 
of  $10.00  a  year  to  cover  the  depreciation  and  $6.00  a  year  to 
cover  the  interest — a  fixed  charge  of  $16.00  a  year. 

That  means  thirty  cents  a  week. 

THE  FIRST  RESULT 

If  the  money  is  spent  to  replace  a  labor  consuming  way  of 
keeping  the  records  it  is  highly  probable  that  one-half  of  a  book- 
keeper's time  is  saved — count  only  a  third  on  the  basis  of  $15.00 
a  week.  The  saving  amounts  to  $5.00  a  week.  The  cost  is  thirty 
cents.  Therefore,  the  "SURPLUS"  above  fixed  charges  on  the 
$100.00  investment  would  equal  $244.00  a  year. 

One  hundred  dollars  paying  itself  back,  paying  six  per  cent, 
interest  and  paying  a  surplus  of  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  every  twelve  months! 

And  yet  that  is  only  the  beginning. 

YET  GREATER  RESULTS 

Improved  methods  relieve  the  Agent  of  worries  that  con- 
sume his  energy.  They  put  the  details  under  the  control  of  the 
office  force.  This  leaves  the  Agent  free  to  manage,  to  work,  to 
produce. 

Improved  methods  put  time  into  the  office  and  make  it  pos- 
sible for  every  caller  to  have  the  exact  attention  required. 


WORKING  FOR  RESULTS  97 

Up-to-date  methods  give  the  office  an  atmosphere  that  adver- 
tises it  among  customers  and  prospective  customers.  An  air  that 
the  Companies  and  Special  Agents  notice  at  once.  A  condition 
that  is  a  magnet  for  underwriting  resources,  for  the  companies 
seek  such  agencies. 

MONEY  AS  A  FACTOR 

When  it  comes  to  summing  up  the  things  really  worth  while 
for  their  own  sake,  money  can  make  no  showing,  and  the  fel- 
low that  hasn't  found  this  out  may  well  take  heed  of  the  size  of 
the  eye  in  the  needle — but  money  as  an  incident  in  life  is  a  big 
factor. 

And  when  one  realizes  that  the  first  step  in  securing  it  is  the 
conservation  of  time,  it  behooves  him  to  take  time — all  the  time 
necessary — to  outline  a  plan  of  action  that  will  make  the  most 
of  the  minutes. 

OPEN  THE  GOLD  MINE 

Look  to  your  working  tools! 

Use  office  systems  and  devices  that  are  the  best  for  you! 

Study  your  promotion  plans! 

Have  a  definite  line  of  action! 

"Plan  your  work,  then  work  your  plan!" 

And  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  every  good  resolution,  as 
a  rule,  needs  much  cultivation  to  make  it  self-supporting.  Jan- 
uary first  is  an  ideal  time  to  put  new  moves  into  effect — but 
TODAY  is  far  better  for  making  the  changes  or  getting  ready  to 
make  them  as  soon  as  possible. 


"There  may  be  no  very  close  relationship  between 
fate  and  furniture,  yet  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  the 
world's  great  problems  have  been  solved  by  men  sit- 
ting in  easy  rocking  chairs/' — "Speed." 

7 


Policy  Sections 
In  Units  of  Wood  and  Steel 

Filing  Devices  Made  Especially  for  the  Purpose 

of  Preserving  Policies  and  Daily 

Report  Forms 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STAFF 

I 

Handling  the  office  details  is  always  an  expense — this  is  the 
unproductive  end  of  the  business — the  drag  on  the  profits. 

How  to  cut  down  this  expense  without  neglecting  the  details 
is  a  vital  question. 

Count  it  a  constant  saving  to  provide  proper  equipment — this 
saves  time  (money)  and  lends  character  to  the  work. 

In  insurance  office  equipment  more  new  pieces  have  been 
brought  out  this  year  than  for  some  time. 


Fittings 

The  Atmosphere. — Why  do  you  take  off  your  hat  when  you 
enter  into  the  private  office  of  the  bank  and  keep  it  on  in  the 
blacksmith  shop?  It's  all  in  the  fittings. 

Which  business  does  your  office  most  resemble  in  its  ap- 
pearances? 

98 


Sectional  Policy  Cabinets 


An  effective  combination  made 
up  of  three  units 


Business  Crowbars 


Today  is  the  day. 


Work  is  a  wizard. 


When  luck  laughs — weep. 


Get  right  and  then  be  loyal. 


Build  up  to  your  air  castles. 


Concentration  works  wonders. 


Twisting  hurts;  creating  helps. 


Laugh  in  the  heart  and  whistle. 


'System  and  Success  are  twins/' 


100 


The 

Business  Possibilities 


in  a 


Thorough  Canvass 


First  a  Broad  View  of  the 
Possibilities  and  then  the  Steps 

c 

Concluding  with  Some  Results 
that  Others  Have  Secured 


Based  on  a  Systematic  Use 
of  the  Household  Inventory 


101 


The  Prospect  Card 


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102 


The  Household  Inventory 


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SECURES  FAIR  ADJUSTMENT 
OFCIAIAYIWCASEOFLOSS 


LOUIS  E,  WALTER 

^:^ji^S^m>-.-ACC)DENT 

INSURANCE 


A  photographic  reproduction  of  the  cover  and  two  pages— reproduced  one-half. 


STEP-BY-STEP 

FOR  STARTING  THE 

Household  Inventory  Plan 

A   VISION 


LST  sit  down  where  it  is  perfectly 
quiet,  shut  your  eyes,  and  for  three 
minutes  let  the  mind  be  as  blank  as 
is  possible,  gradually  directing  the 
thought  into  the  taking  of  a  bird's  eye  view 
of  your  own  city.  As  the  mind  centers 
on  its  task  let  it  revolve  slowly  up  and 
down  the  residence  sections,  pausing  in 
each  locality  long  enough  to  note  the 
building  progress  of  the  past  three  years. 
Then  with  the  eyes  still  closed,  let  there 
arise  before  you  a  picture  of  one  house  in 
every  square,  connected  with  your  office 
by  a  furniture  insurance  policy — and 
think  of  a  current  of  business  personality 
extending  through  each  policy  to  its  hold- 
er and  so  influencing  his  insurance 
thoughts  that  when  the  neighbor  on  either 
side  talks  of  insurance  of  any  kind  your 
agency  will  receive  generous  words  of 
commendation.  Think  of  these  house- 
hold furniture  policyholders  acquiring 
more  and  more  of  this  world's  goods, 


103 


104  A  SYSTEMATIC  CAMPAIGN 


building  houses  of  their  own,  placing  the 
insurance  on  the  new  dwellings  through 
your  agency,  getting  into  business  for 
themselves  and  taking  out  policies  on 
buildings  and  stock.  Grasp,  if  you  can, 
what  it  would  mean  to  have  in  your  of- 
fice a  memorandum,  house-by-house,  of 
the  exact  insurance  conditions  over  your 
entire  city  and  a  system  that  would  keep 
you  in  touch  with  the  insurance  move- 
ments of  practically  every  person  in  town. 
Then  come  to  a  realization  of  the  fact 
that  the  plan  which  you  are  going  to  put 
into  operation  depends  not  upon  dim,  dis- 
tant results  for  its  success,  but  that 
while  it  is  putting  it  within  your  power 
to  write  an  ever-increasing  volume  of 
business  it  is  at  the  same  time  producing 
immediate  results  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  time  expended  upon  the  system. 


We  are  very  serious  in  asking  that  you 
take  this  mental  view  of  the  situation  be- 
fore starting  in  on  the  work  for  the  rea- 
son that  we  believe  it  pays  to  "plan  your 
work,  then  work  your  plan."  Every  day 
will  not  be  a  great  success;  there  are 
dark  tunnels  on  every  long  road,  but  it 
will  not  be  necessary  to  average  many 
days  to  discover  that  you  are  getting  re- 
sults. 


PUTTING  IN  SPARE  TIME  105 


The  Start 

Select  for  the  start  a  nearby  residence 
section  of  the  medium  class  and  go  forth 
with  an  unbreakable  resolution  to  make 
a  call  at  every  house  and  to  have,  when 
the  work  for  the  day  is  finished,  a  com- 
plete record  of  the  results  of  each  and 
every  call;  these  results  to  be  recorded 
on  the  "Prospect  Cards"  as  you  go. 

Not  at  Home 

If  a  person  is  not  found  at  home,  and 
for  this  reason  the  name  is  not  secured, 
write  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  top 
line  of  the  "Prospect  Card"  the  house  ad- 
dress and  on  the  line  at  the  bottom 
marked  "Calls"  insert  the  date  and  about 
the  date  a  circle;  let  the  circle  always 
indicate  that  the  person  was  not  seen  at 
that  call. 

Right  Person  and  Place 

If  some  one  is  found  at  home,  secure 
the  name  of  the  person  who  has  to  do 
with  the  insuring,  his  or  her  occupation 
and  business  address,  and  if  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  talk  insurance  at  the  house,  make 
a  memorandum  to  this  effect  on  the  back 
of  the  card  and  put  a  set  of  parenthesis 
around  the  home  address.  If  insurance 
is  to  be  talked  at  home  put  the  paren- 
thesis around  the  business  address. 


106 


A  SYSTEMATIC  CAMPAIGN 


Talk  Business  Not  Cancellations 

If,  after  an  Interview,  you  find  that  an 
adequate  amount  of  insurance  Is  being 
carried  on  the  personal  property,  talk 
burglary  and  theft  insurance. 

If  possible,  secure  the  date  of  the  ex- 
piration of  the  present  policy  on  the 
furniture,  but  don't  "twist." 

While  making  the  call,  go  farther  than 
household  insurance  and  make  inquiry  re- 
garding the  possession  of  real  estate  and 
as  to  the  amount  of  insurance  carried  and 
the  dates  of  policy  expirations. 


Today  First— Then  Tomorrow 

Remember  always  that  a  bird  in  the 
hand  is  worth  a  dozen  in  the  bush. 
Put  all  your  ability  and  effort  into  getting 
a  policy  without  delay  if  there  is  a  risk 
unprotected.  But  if  it  is  impossible  on  ac- 
count of  existing  policies  to  write  a 
policy  then  and  there,  secure  the 
dates  on  which  the  present  policies  ex- 
pire and  make  a  memorandum  on  the  line 
marked  "Next  Call"  as  to  the  date  when 
you  should  next  see  the  person  being  in- 
terviewed. When  the  day  is  done  file 
the  card  as  shall  be  outlined  later. 


PUTTING  IN  SPARE  TIME 


107 


A  Psychological  Question 

Use  your  discretion  as  to  whether  it  is 
wise  to  leave  an  inventory  on  the  call  you 
are  then  making  or  whether  it  should  be 
reserved  as  the  reason  for  calling  again 
at  a  future  time. 


Easy  Sledding 

If  there  is  a  policy  in  force,  be  sure  that 
the  card  is  marked  so  that  it  will  be 
brought  to  your  attention  by  the  file  one 
month  before  the  expiration  of  the  pres- 
ent policy.  When  the  time  arrives  get 
the  prospect  to  make  out  a  list  of  his 
household  effects  at  present  valuations  so 
that  he  may  know  the  amount  of  insur- 
ance that  should  be  carried.  You  have 
presented  the  inventory,  which  makes  the 
making  of  the  list  a  pastime  and  which 
prevents  trouble  in  case  of  a  loss,  so  you 
will  have  little  difficulty  under  ordinary 
conditions  in  writing  the  new  policy. 


On  the  Spot 

Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  waiting  un- 
til you  have  made  three  or  four  calls  be- 
fore entering  the  information  on  the  card. 
Set  down  all  of  the  essential  facts 
while  making  the  call  and  then  dismiss 
the  matter  entirely  from  your  mind.  This 


108 


A  SYSTEMATIC  CAMPAIGN 


plan  is  built  on  automatic  lines,  which  is 
necessary  in  order  properly  to  handle  the 
details  of  a  big  scheme  that  needs  your 
free  mind  for  grasping  the  key  to  each 
situation  as  it  arises. 


The  Treasure  Box 

When  the  inventory  work  for  the  day  is 
over,  whether  it  has  consumed  half  an 
hour  or  all  day,  take  the  prospect  cards 
and  file  them  into  a  3x5  card  index  file 
supplied  with  one  set  of  monthly  guides 
and  one  set  of  guides  running  from  1  to 
31.  Set  the  monthly  guides  one  behind 
the  other  and  the  1  to  31  guides  in  the 
front  of  the  file.  File  in  front  of  the  1 
to  31  guides  (which  represent  the  days  of 
the  month)  the  cards  that  are  to  be  seen 
on  the  different  days  of  the  current 
month  and  such  cards  as  represent  calls 
that  are  to  be  seen  after  the  present 
month  file  in  front  of  the  guide  card  for 
the  month  when  the  prospect  is  to  be 
seen.  On  the  first  of  each  month  take  all 
of  the  cards  that  have  been  filed  in 
front  of  the  monthly  guide  card  and  dis- 
tribute them  in  front  of  the  daily  guides 
according  to  the  memorandum  which  you 
have  made  on  the  line  marked  "Next 
Call." 


PUTTING  IN  SPARE  TIME 


109 


On  "The"  Day 

In  arranging  your  work  for  each  day  be 
sure  that  you  take  from  in  front  of  the 
guide  card  for  that  particular  day  all  of 
the  calls  marked  to  be  seen  on  that  day. 
Let  it  be  the  exceptional  day  that  you 
do  not  see  each  one  that  is  booked  for 
a  call.  This  is  very  important  and  is  one 
of  the  stumbling  blocks  for  the  man  who 
is  inclined  to  put  things  off  for  tomorrow. 


Marking  Carded  Territory 

Take  a  map  of  your  city  and  with  a 
colored  pencil  mark  over  the  territory 
which  you  have  seen  during  the  day  on 
the  first  and  straight  house-to-house  can- 
vas. This  is  another  thing  that  should 
not  be  put  off  with  the  thought  that  the 
territory  can  be  carried  in  mind.  We 
have  seen  the  mind  process  tried. 


Avoid  Accumulations 

The  cards  which  have  been  made  dur- 
ing the  day  for  persons  not  found  at 
home  should  be  put  in  the  follow-up  file 
for  the  next  day  or  such  future  date  as 
seems  best  to  you,  according  to  local  con- 
ditions, but  these  not-at-home  calls  should 
be  kept  worked  up  and  not  allowed  to  ac- 
cumulate. 


110 


A  SYSTEMATIC  CAMPAIGN 


Days  For  Different  Sections 

Dependent  upon  local  conditions,  the 
town  should  be  divided  into  sections,  and 
when  you  are  marking  a  card  for  the  next 
time  the  person  is  to  be  seen  mark  it,  if 
possible,  with  reference  to  a  particular 
day  in  the  week  designated  for  back  calls 
in  that  particular  section.  For  instance,  a 
town  divided  into  four  sections  should 
have  its  call-backs  for  the  northeastern 
section  marked  always,  if  possible,  for  a 
particular  day — say  Monday;  the  north- 
western section,  Tuesdays,  and  so  on — 
time  is  money  and  it  takes  time  to  make 
scattered  calls.  But  so  inflexible  should 
be  the  rule  to  see  the  person  on  the  day 
for  which  the  card  is  marked  that  after 
the  card  has  appeared  for  action  neither 
distance  nor  weather  should  stand  in  the 
way  of  its  being  made  that  day. 


All  On  One  Card 

If  your  office  has  a  line  of  advertising 
literature  which  you  are  in  the  habit  of 
sending  to  prospects,  and  you  have  not 
already  done  so,  we  suggest  that  you  give 
each  different  kind  of  literature  a  serial 
number.  When  advertising  matter  is  sent 
to  a  prospect  the  serial  number  and 
the  date  the  advertisement  is  sent  should 
be  entered  on  the  line  marked  "Adv.  Lit." 


PUTTING  IN  SPARE  TIME 


111 


The  Whole  Story 

In  order  that  the  card  may  tell  the  whole 
story  we  suggest  that  if  for  any  reason 
a  letter  is  sent  to  a  prospect  the  date  of 
the  letter  be  entered  on  the  line  after 
"Letters."  The  date  an  inventory  is  left 
should  be  entered  in  the  proper  space. 


Keep  Supplied  With  Supplies 

Do  not  allow  yourself  to  run  too  low  on 
Inventories,  as  it  takes  about  a  week  to 
fill  an  order  on  account  of  the  imprinting. 
Do  not  hesitate  to  ask  for  prospect  cards, 
even  though  you  do  not  find  it  necessary 
to  order  inventories.  We  want  you  to 
keep  on  hand  a  good  supply  of  prospect 
cards  so  that  there  will  be  no  chance  of 
running  out,  and  if  you  should  run  out, 
suspend  business  until  you  get  a  fresh 

BUDDly. 

Utilize  Every  Minute 

Put  in  your  spare  time.  An  average  of 
40  minutes  a  day  saved  means  the  same 
as  an  extra  month  each  year.  The  plans 
outlined  in  this  booklet  may  readily  be 
adapted  to  the  utilizing  of  spare  time. 


112  A  SYSTEMATIC  CAMPAIGN 


Utilize  Every  Opportunity 

Remember  that  the  man  who  comes 
into  the  office  is  a  good  prospect  for  new 
business.  Keep  in  mind  all  the  kinds  of 
Insurance  you  write  and  mentally  go  over 
the  list  to  see  if  each  visitor  cannot  be 
told  of  a  policy  that  would  give  him  added 
protection.  The  giving  of  an  Inventory 
to  everyone  who  calls  will  not  only  hold 
the  attention  while  you  talk  of  other 
kinds  of  Insurance  but  it  will  be  an  ad- 
vertisement taken  home  as  an  appre- 
ciated souvenir. 

Let  the  Results  Decide 

The  initial  steps  outlined  above  doubt- 
less include  many  points  and  bits  of  In- 
struction which  may  seem  to  you  either 
unnecessary  or  trivial  to  the  point  of  fool- 
ishness, but  we  ask  you  to  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  we  as  well  as  you  are  work- 
ing for  results,  and  to  bear  in  mind  that 
the  very  little  things  sometimes  play 
very  important  parts. 


PUTTING  IN  SPARE  TIME  113 


This  is  not  an  advertisement — it  is  a 
series  of  working  plans  —  and  for  this 
reason  we  have  not  elaborated  on  the  part 
the  Inventory  performs.  The  Inventory 
is  the  introduction — a  resume  of  reasons 
for  insuring — the  needed  something  on 
which  to  center  and  hold  the  "Prospects' " 
attention — a  souvenir  appreciated  alike 
for  its  present  value  in  making  the  list 
easily  possible  and  its  future  great  value 
in  case  of  a  loss — it  is  the  medium  that 
carries  your  arguments  into  the  heart  of 
the  home;  it  is  the  excuse  for  a  later  in- 
terview if  the  policy  is  not  secured  at 
once,  and  in  the  end  it  holds  the  insur- 
ance for  you.  It  is  the  spark  that  ignites 
your  planning  and  working  and  sets  into 
action  the  wheels  that  grind  out 
premiums. 


Regarding  the  Plan 

(Condensed  from  several  articles.) 

The  plan  outlined  on  the  preceding  pages  was  carefully 
worked  out  by  the  manager  of  the  Promotion  Department  along 
the  lines  on  which  mercantile  successes  have  been  built. 

Theoretically  the  plan  had  all  of  the  ear-marks  of  success. 

But  theory  can  not  always  be  depended  upon  to  produce  re- 
sults of  the  kind  one  would  forecast. 

So,  for  experimental  purposes,  the  plan  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  a  young  man,  qualified  to  write  insurance,  and  from  the 
business  he  secured  it  was  shown  that  the  plan,  coupled  with  in- 
telligent and  conscientious  work,  would  produce  almost  marvel- 
ous results. 

Such  minor  changes  were  made  as  experience  suggested,  and 
then  the  plan  in  its  present  shape  was  made  public. 

Results  secured  in  one  town  can  not  be  used  as  a  gauge  by 
which  to  measure  the  results  that  should  be  gotten  in  another 
town,  but  the  fragmentary  reports  which  have  come  from  differ- 
ent sections  indicate  that  the  whole  United  States  is  open  terri- 
tory for  putting  in  spare  time  in  this  way  to  a  decided  advantage. 

On  November  17,  1909,  the  Talbert  &  McNaughton  Agency, 
of  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  started  out  a  solicitor  on  a  house-to-house 
canvass  along  the  lines  suggested.  The  man  knew  absolutely 
nothing  about  the  insurance  business. 

At  the  end  of  thirty  days  the  results  were  so  startling  that 
we  were  favored  with  a  report  of  his  work  in  detail,  and  here  is 


114 


What  a  Green  Man  Did  in  Thirty  Days 

He  secured  through  his  own  efforts  87  policies,  putting  in 
force  $51,815.00  in  insurance,  with  premiums  amounting  to 
$776.35;  secured  a  list  of  81  names  of  people  who  had  no  insur- 
ance, but  who  wanted  insurance,  and  12  expirations  on  dwellings, 
with  instructions  from  owners  to  write.  Every  dollar  of  the 
above  was  absolutely  new  business  for  the  agency. 

In  sending  us  the  report  Mr.  McNaughton  said: 

"Thirty  working  days;  $776.35  in  premiums;  87  new  custom- 
ers, all  with  an  influence  in  attracting  others,  and  81  good,  live 
prospects,  I  take  to  be  a  pretty  good  record,  more  especially  when 
we  consider  that  it  was  made  by  a  man  absolutely  'green'  in  the 
business;  but  he  has  the  redeeming  quality  of  stick-to-itiveness 
and  takes  'No!'  as  an  incentive  to  go  after  the  other  fellow." 

An  agency  operating  on  an  extensive  scale,  with  eight  or  ten 
solicitors  in  the  field  and  a  close  office  organization,  during  the 
last  seven  months  of  1909,  put  upon  its  books  over  2,000  new 
items,  but  these  results  can  hardly  be  analyzed  for  ordinary  pur- 
poses, as  the  agency  is  working  along  lines  distinctive  to  itself, 
though  embodying  the  plan  outlined. 

In  passing  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  say  that  more  than  surface 
results  are  secured  as  a  result  of  following  the  plan  suggested. 

By  this  we  mean  that  while  the  getting  of  household  furni- 
ture risks — preferred  business — means  much  hard  work  and  an 
average  of  small  premiums,  yet  these  risks,  once  secured,  be- 
cause of  the  very  fact  that  they  have  required  pains  to  get  them, 
will  remain  on  the  agency  books,  for  they  are  not  plums  that 
tempt  the  passing  appetite  of  the  spurting  agent. 

Household  risks  put  the  agency  in  intimate  touch  (if  the 
agency  will)  with  the  affairs  of  the  householder,  and  may  be 
made  the  stepping  stone  to  insurance  of  almost  every  character. 

And  an  agency  with  a  volume  of  preferred  business  is  in  po- 
sition to  ask  the  companies  it  represents  to  go  out  of  their  way 
to  take  care  of  its  mercantile  risks  and  special  hazards. 


115 


At  the  Banquet  Board 

Centuries  of    sowing  wave  golden-headed  for  the 
reaper  of  to-day. 


Think  much;  work  intelligently,  and  be  sure  you 
really  think  and  actually  work. 


It's  fun  to  do  business  if  it's  on  the  square  and  the 
tools  cut  sharp  and  true. 

"If"  turned  about  is  the  beginning  of  "fine"     Be 
exact.    Keep  balanced. 

A  six-cent  souvenir  on  the  desk  is  worth  more  than  a 
dollar  one  in  the  waste  basket. 


It  pays  to  kick  if  in  so  doing  you  bruise  your  toe  and 
are  obliqed  to  sit  down  and  think. 


There  are  fourteen  hundred  and  forty  minutes  in 
every  day.    Help  yourself. 

The  year  will  be  thirteen  months  long  if  you  save 
forty  minutes  each  day. 

Looking  for  leaks  is  a  study  that  pays  everyone.  But 
don't  look  with  a  grouch.    Be  big,  and  when  you  find 
a  leak,  save  it  and  the  leaker. 
116 


Schemes 
That  Win  Insurance  Clients 

BY  A.  E.  OLSON 
Manager  Insurance  Department,  Woodlawn  Trust  and  Savings  Bank 

[  Reprinted  from  System— the,  Magazine  of  Business  ] 

To  pave  the  way  for  securing  new  business  and  to  retain 
the  old  are  the  two  objects  of  the  advertising  schemes  of  the 
fire  insurance  agency.  Schemes  are  of  two  general  classes:  (1) 
those  prepared  by  the  companies  and  sent  to  their  agents  for 
distribution,  and  (2)  those  prepared  by  the  agent  himself.  As  a 
rule,  the  latter  are  the  better,  for  in  them  the  agent  exhibits  his 
own  personality. 

Many  agents  send  out  cards,  statements  and  other  adver- 
tising matter  to  old  clients  simply  to  keep  the  names  of  their 
agencies  before  them  as  a  lead  to  obtaining  renewals.  But  the 
schemes  which  show  the  most  originality  are  those  used  in  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  secure  new  business.  It  is  with  these  that  the 
agent  tries  to  reach  the  uninsured,  the  elsewhere  insured,  and  the 
under  insured — friends,  acquaintances  and  strangers.  He  at- 
tempts with  one  scheme  to  secure  more  names  and  exipiration 
dates  than  he  could  gather  in  a  month  of  canvassing,  and  if  the 
scheme  is  well  conceived  and  handled,  he  succeeds. 

The  Residence  Inventory — A  Scheme  That  Wins  Interest 

An  advertising  plan  which  has  been  most  successful  among 
fire  insurance  agents  is  the  issuing  of  a  blank  book  for  use  as  a 
residence  inventory.  This  is  usually  a  neatly  prepared  booklet 
of  a  dozen  leaves. 

117 


118  SCHEMES  THAT  WIN  CLIENTS 

On  the  inside  of  the  front  cover  is  a  notice  of  what  to  do  in 
case  of  fire,  instructions  for  making  an  inventory  and  appraisal, 
and  on  the  opposite  page  are  lines  for  the  dates  of  the  original  in- 
ventory and  three  revisions.  On  the  inside  of  the  back  cover 
are  printed  general  instructions  for  placing  insurance,  how  to 
give  a  notice  for  additional  insurance,  and  what  to  do  in  case  of 
removal  of  property.  The  twenty-four  pages  of  the  book  are  each 
devoted  to  a  room  and  are  ruled  to  show  the  number  of  articles 
inventoried,  and  a  memorandum  of  each  article  itself,  date  of 
purchase,  cost  and  description. 

These  inventories  cost  from  six  to  seven  cents  [including 
cost  of  mailing]  if  they  are  gotten  up  in  attractive  style;  and, 
therefore,  they  should  not  be  carelessly  mailed.  With  each  in- 
ventory it  is  wise  to  enclose  a  short,  personal  letter,  briefly 
describing  the  use  and  purpose  of  the  booklet.  Most  men  have 
little  idea  of  the  value  of  their  house  furnishings.  But  with  an 
inventory  such  as  this,  they  are  enabled  to  list  their  property  in 
convenient  form. 

The  check  on  the  value  of  this  advertising  is  readily  afforded 
the  agent  by  the  personal  follow-up,  which  is  necessary  in  all 
advertising  of  this  kind.  Agents  who  have  used  these  inven- 
tories year  after  year  find  them  one  of  the  most  effective  means 
for  reaching,  interesting  and  keeping  in  touch  with  new  pros- 
pects. 


The  early  bird  gets  the  inspiration  of  a  sunrise  while 
getting  the  worm. 

The  things  that  really  count  are  so  few  that  they  can 
be  treasured. 

Who  will  be  to  "blame  for  your  shortage  of  Christmas 
money?  It  will  be  too  late  on  December  20th  to  fig- 
ure on  what  might  have  been. 


A  "House  to  House"  Record 

At  the  Beginning  of  this  Sub- Division  of  the  Book  Will 

Be  Found  an  Etching  of  a  "Prospect  Card" 

Along  Slightly  Different  Lines 


This  form  was  originated  by  L.  M.  Ward,  of  the  Insurance 
Department  of  Folsom  Bros.  Co.,  of  Lincoln,  Neb. 


/j/00 


Mailing  List 


Ownei 


Tenant 


H.  H. 


Occupation 


Inventory  -^^9- 


Address 


O"i-«-  "L.  ST"^ 


Calls  /^/,-S 


Remarks:  Itt 


\^.'/+c/o*  Results: 


Printed  on  a  3x5  card  it  provides,  in  concise  form,  for  all 
essential  data  needed  in  a  follow-up  campaign. 

Both  the  "Owner"  and  "Tenant"  are  considered  — and  space 
provided  for  information  regarding  insurance  on  the  Building 
and  Contents,  and  Accident  and  Burglary  Insurance  as  well. 

The  card  spells  SUCCESS  for  agencies  that  plan  their  work 
on  such  systematic  lines — IF  they  work  their  plan. 

119 


A  Suggestion  for  a  Newspaper  Advertisement 

There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  value  of  advertising  im- 
mediately after  a  fire. 

When  anyone  reads  of  a  horror,  the  first  feeling  is  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  one  injured  and  the  second  of  thankfulness  for  per- 
sonal escape.  The  third  thought  is  usually  a  question  as  to 
whether  one  is  secure  from  a  similar  catastrophe. 

After  reading  the  newspaper  details  of  a  fire,  the  mind 
is  in  just  the  right  mood  for  such  an  advertisement  as  is  shown 
on  the  opposite  page. 

We  suggest  that  an  arrangement  might  be  made  with  the 
newspapers  for  running  such  an  advertisement  either  immedi- 
ately following  or  alongside  of  the  story  of  every  big  local  fire. 

Another  suggestion  would  be  to  print  cards  containing  some- 
what similar  matter,  and  to  distribute  these  cards  thoroughly  in 
the  vicinity  of  every  fire,  if  possible  while  the  conflagration  is  at 
its  height. 

The  advertisement  should  attract  unusual  attention,  and  per- 
sons who  ask  for  the  Inventories  voluntarily  take  the  first  step 
toward  assuming  business  relations  with  the  agency. 

The  name  of  every  one  who  asks  for  an  Inventory  should  be 
secured,  together  with  his  business  address.  Then  a  call  should 
be  made  within  a  few  days  to  ascertain  if  the  Inventory  has  been 
made  out,  and  to  talk  over  the  subject  of  insurance. 

This  is  a  plan  to  advertise  in  such  a  way  as  to  turn  the 
interest  produced  into  premiums. 

Agencies  that  use  this  form  of  advertising  will  find  it  neces- 
sary to  have  on  hand  a  supply  of  Household  Inventories.  And  if 
the  first  effect  of  the  advertisement  is  no  more  than  to  bring 
about  this  result,  it  will  be  a  step  forward  for  the  agencies  that 
are  not  using  this  medium. 

An  electrotype  of  the  cut  shown  in  the  advertisement  will  be 
sent  at  once  to  all  subscribers  that  ask  for  it.  The  electrotype 
will  be  charged  at  mere  cost — thirty-five  cents — as  a  part  of  the 
service  of  the  Promotion  Department 

120 


A  Suggestion  for  a  Newspaper  Ad. 


ARE  YOU  PREPARED  FOR  A  FIRE? 

Most  persons  do  not  know  that  in  case 
of  a  partial  loss  it  is  necessary  to  make 
up  a  sworn  list  of  the  actual  things 
damaged  or  destroyed.  Such  is  the 
case,  so  no  matter  how  strong  the  com- 
panies you  are  insured  in,  you  should 
keep  a  list  of  the  things  insured,  in 
order  to  make  a  correct  settlement  in 
case  of  fire. 


The  above  illustration  shows  the  plan 
of  a  24-page  booklet  we  have  ready  for 
distribution.  It  is  arranged,  as  shown, 
for  listing  household  goods. 

Invaluable  in  case  of  a  loss,  and  of 
much  value  in  determining  the  amount 
of  insurance  one  should  carry,  and  in 
the  making  of  a  proper  tax  return. 

THE  BOOK  IS  SENT  FREE 

upon  request,  or  may  be  had  by  asking 
for  it  at  our  office.  It  advertises  the 
agency,  and  so  you  will  do  us  as  well 
as  yourself  a  favor  in  getting  a  copy. 

THE    AJAX    INSURANCE    AGENCY 

Market  and  Illinois  Sts. 


121 


Introducing  the  Subject  of 

Insurance  Against  Thieves  and 

Windstorms 


A  Letter  Plan  that  May  be  Tried  Out  at  Spare  Time 
and  at  Very  Little  Expense 


Dear  Sir: 

You  lock  the  doors  at  home — but  do  you  put  iron  shut- 
ters up  to  the  windows? 

Your  family  is  honest  and  you  would  have  only  honest 
servants — but  how  about  the  chance  help? 

The  night  watchman  is  splendid  protection  against 
fires  getting  under  good  headway  before  being  discovered, 
but  he  doesn't  take  the  place  of  a  fire  policy — and  while 
he  discourages  prowlers,  his  whistle  does  not  bring  back 
goods  taken  by  theft. 

A  Burglary  and  Theft  policy  costs  about  25  cents  a 
week,  and  it  is  on  the  job  day  and  night. 

It  keeps  watch  on  all  sides,  and  if  anything  is  taken — 
restores  it. 

Fill  out  the  enclosed  card  and  we  will  send  you,  with- 
out charge,  a  24-page  Household  Inventory,  schedule  ruled 
for  listing  your  household  effects  by  rooms.  And,  at  the 
same  time,  we  will  quote  you  rates  on  Burglary  and  Theft 
Protection.  (Personal  Signature.) 


122 


The  Card 

(A  Government  Postal — self -addressed.) 


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123 


One  Way  of 
Soliciting  the  "Removals" 

A  Plan  for  Introducing  the  Subject  of  Insurance  at  a 
Psychological  Time 


Dear  Sir: 

I  have  a  memorandum  to  the  effect  that  you  have 
moved  into  a  new  home  and  so  feel  that  this  is  perhaps  an 
opportune  time  for  sending  you  one  of  my  blank  schedules 
for  listing  furniture  and  other  household  effects. 

There  are  two  conditions  that  result  from  the  making 
of  such  a  list: 

In  the  first  place — it  enables  one  to  de- 
termine the  amount  of  insurance  that 
should  be  carried;  and 

In  the  second  place — it  removes  fric- 
tion in  the  making  of  a  settlement  in  case 
of  a  loss. 

All  fire  insurance  policies  include  a  provision  that  in 
case  of  loss,  there  must  be  an  Inventory  of  the  goods  de- 
stroyed. Such  an  Inventory  is  very  difficult  to  make  after 
a  fire,  as  you  may  easily  determine  for  yourself  if  you  will 
attempt  to  think  of  the  furnishings  in  another  room  and 
then  walk  in  to  find  that  many  things  have  not  been 
thought  of. 

The  things  not  thought  of  are  a  total  loss  when  an  ad- 
justment is  made. 

Will  you  kindly  accept  this  Inventory  schedule,  with 
the  compliments  of  this  agency,  and  if  you  are  or  soon  will 
be  open  for  insurance,  I  would  appreciate  your  letting  me 
hear  from  you  to  this  effect  on  the  postal  enclosed  for  ac- 
knowledging receipt  of  the  Inventory. 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Personal  Signature.) 


The  card  mentioned  in  the  letter  is  illustrated  on  the  sheet  in 
the  envelope  attached  to  the  back  cover  of  this  book. 

124 


The  Index 


Office  Economies 

An  Automatic  System  for  Handling  the  Follow-Up  of  Every 

Detail — A  plan  that  will  free  the  brain  for  managing..       7 
How  to  Analyze  the  Business,  Day  by  Day — An  exhaustive 
article  introducing  a  simple  form  whereby  the  cost  per 
unit  rule  of  big  business  successes  is  applied  to  the  Lo- 
cal Fire  Insurance  Office 25 

A  Loose-Leaf  Expiration  Record — Descriptive  illustrations..     17 

A  Card  Expiration  Record — Descriptive  illustrations 19 

A  Bound  Book  Expiration  Record — Descriptive  illustrations.     13 

Files  for  Card  Records — A  building-up  system 23 

Daily  Balance  Sheet •  • 25 

An   Elastic  System  in  a  Local  Office — The  forms  and  how 

they  are  used 41 

Short  Cuts  in  a  General  Agency — A  complete  outline  of  three 
up-to-date  labor-saving  systems  that  contain  ideas  which 
may  be  made  to  apply  to  cut  down  details  in  Home,  Gen- 
eral and  Local  offices 34 

Writing  Next  Year's  Special  Forms — A  time-saving  plan 33 

How  Paper  and  Ink  Help  One  Agency — Systematizing  real 

estate  details    82 

Policy  Sections— Filing  devices  made  especially  for  the  pur- 
pose    98 

A  Modern  Transfer  System — Relief  from  worry 51 


Getting  Business 

Getting  Business  on  Rural  Routes — A  letter  that  made  good 
with  a  summary  of  results 45 

One  Way  of  Soliciting  "Removals" — Introducing  the  subject 
of  insurance  at  a  psychological  time 124 

Introducing  the  Subject  of  Insurance  Against  Burglary  and 
Thieves — A  letter  plan  that  may  be  tried  at  spare  time 
and  little  expense 122 

Assisting  the  Prospect  to  Remember  the  Agency  at  the  Right 
Time — A  plan  to  help  keep  promises 77 

A  Link  in  an  Original  Advertising  Campaign — How  one 
agent  turned  a  $10.00  award  into  a  volume  of  business. .  65 

Turning  a  Dog's  Prank  Into  a  Magnet  for  Premiums — An  at- 
tractive post  card  that  got  results 67 

Advertising  by  the  Light  of  the  Fire — The  story  of  a  "Best 
Ad-"  - 62 

A  Suggestion  for  a  Newspaper  Advertisement— Getting  the 
Prospect  to  take  the  first  step 120 

A  Photographic  Reproduction  of  a  Letter  that  Induced  Per- 
sonal Responses — With  a  story  of  results 49 

Reading  the  Agency  Ad.  in  the  Fire  Whistle— A  small-town 
suggestion  72 

Seasonable  Advertising  on  a  Scientific  Basis — Using  the 
windstorm  of  to-day  to  advertise  protection  against  the 
tornado  of  to-morrow 55 

Writing  Additional  Insurance— Without  finding  new  custom- 
ers    54 

A  Convincing  Folder — Outlined  in  detail 50 

A  Blotter  that  Is  Distinctive— One  that  appeals  to  a  Prospect 
because  it  has  a  story  to  tell  on  a  subject  of  vital  inter- 
est    60 

An  Appreciated  Courtesy — A  souvenir  that  is  kept  for  its  in- 
trinsic value  74 

An  Inexpensive  Sticker  that  Calls  Attention  to  Vital  Facts- 
How  one  agent  does  the  policyholder  a  good  turn  while 
serving  himself  70 

The  Kiss— A  business  card  that  is  kept  on  account  of  its 
clean  humor 76 


Getting  Business 


Marking  the  Policy — Illustrated  in  colors 68 

Thanks — A  happy  sticker 53 

How  One  Department  Helps  Another  Until  the  Transaction 

Becomes  an  Endless  Chain — Making  the  grooves  fit 57 

An  Attractive  Insert — One  that  culminates  in  a  catch  line..     80 
Waste  or  Worse — Referring  to  advertising  matter  on  the 

shelves    64 

Distinctive    Advertising — Cumulative    results 48 

Business  Possibilities  in  a  Thorough  Canvass — Introducing  a 
simple,  yet  comprehensive  system,  for  making  a  sys- 
tematic campaign  with  the  purpose  of  securing  house- 
hold risks  and  laying  a  firm  foundation  for  all  kinds  of 

insurance    101 

"Step-by-Step" — A  plan  for  utilizing  the  household  inventory.  103 
Household  Inventory  Results — Regarding  a  plan  that  made 

good  114 

What  a  Green  Man  Did  in  Thirty  Days — The  story  of  a  be- 
ginner who  wrote  87  policies,  aggregating  nearly  $800  in 

premiums   115 

A  House-to-House  Record — Utilizing  Prospect  Cards 119 

Prospect  Cards— Illustrated   102,  119 

How  to  Use  the  Prospect  Card — In  detail 105 

On  the  Spot — A  paragraph  on  a  grievous  error 107 

The  Treasure  Box — The  powder  line  to  a  gold  mine 108 

Days  for  Different  Sections — How  to  save  footsteps 110 

Schemes  that  Win  Insurance  Clients — A  reprinted  article 
from  "System"  117 


Business  Philosophy 


Why  Some  Agencies  Have  the  Doughnut,  Others  the  Hole — 

A  comparison   95 

Open  the  Gold  Mine — A  summary 97 

Little  Leaks — Making  money  by  saving  it 12 

Once-a-Week  Convention — A  study  of  the  cash  drawer 5 

Take  Advantage  of  the  Wind — Moving  in  harmony  with  con- 
ditions   ,  44 


Business  Philosophy 


When  Things  Come  Your  Way — A  danger  sign 47 

Drifting  or  Sailing — High  price  waste 69 

Fundamental     Principles — The    suggestions    of    a    business 

woman 59 

"Six  Days  Shalt  Thou  Labor" — A  business  sermon 93 

Three  Thoughts — Consider;  Co-operation;  Making  Success ..  24 

Once  for  All  Time — Utilizing  experience 84 

Low    Bridge! — A   warning 4 

Business  Crowbars — Little  Levers 100 

At  the  Banquet  Board — A  page  of  short  paragraphs 116 

Quoted — A  page  of  quotations 92 

Working  to  a  Plan — Reserve  in  the  Individual;  On  Winning; 

Planning  Prosperity    16 

In  the  G.  O.  Summer  Time — Looking  ahead 23 

A  Story  of  a  Policy  that  Did  Not  Expire — With  a  moral  at- 
tached     88 

General  Thoughts — With  specific  applications 6 

Mighty  Midgets— The  effect  of  little  things 94 


Field  Systems 


How  to  Keep  the  Field  Conditions  Under  Your  Thumb — A 
map  and  tack  system 89 

A  Loose-Leaf  System  for  Keeping  the  Field  Records — The 
most  up-to-date  Office  system  applied  to  the  Field 85 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 
LIBRARY 

Due  two  weeks  after  date. 


